The government will spend NOK 12.5 billion on air defence

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The government wants to replace the air defense donated by Norway to Ukraine and invest in new, modern missiles for air defense today.

The government proposes to spend NOK 12.5 billion on strengthening Norway’s air defence. appears in press release.

According to Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Sture (Ap), this is the largest single investment in air defense in 30 years.

– With this investment, the government is helping to strengthen our national preparedness, and we are replacing the air defense donated to Ukraine as quickly as possible, says the Prime Minister.

The package proposed by the government includes the following:

• Three different NASAMS missiles with shorter, medium and longer ranges
• Eight launch units and four fire control units for the NASAMS system
• New missile for combat air vehicles

NASAMS (Norwegian Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System) is a ground-based air defense system. It was partly developed in Norway by Kongsberg Defense and Aerospace.

All missiles are produced by the American company Raytheon, of which the Norwegian defense industry is a partial supplier.

Time gap

Defense Minister Bjørn Arild Gram (SP) believes that Norway is now taking a step towards the next generation of air defence.

– We are at a turning point for security in Europe and it is urgent for Norway to establish a modern air defence, says the Defense Minister in the press release.

The government states that approximately 5.1 billion goes to recover donations to Ukraine. This will be financed with funds from the Nansen programme, while about $7.4 billion is money from the regular budget to pursue the long-term plan.

In addition to being the largest single investment in air defense in three decades, the acquisition will be completed in record time, according to the government. This is despite the fact that the demand for air defense at the international level has increased strongly.

Must be agreed upon

According to Gram, the delivery period for air defense is longer than the government desires.

– This is precisely why it is important that we take exceptional measures to speed up the matter. Further development of air defense will be a major topic in the upcoming long-term plan, Gram says in the press release.

Investments of NOK 12.5 billion require parliamentary approval.

It will be possible to launch new missiles for Norwegian combat air defense vehicles in 2024 and 2025 if Parliament approves the government’s proposal. NASAMS will likely be delivered in 2026, while new rockets may arrive from 2028.