Admiral Haakon Bruun-Hansen, left, Chief of Defense of Norway attends a briefing in Vaernes Garrison, Stjørdal, Norway during a NATO exercise on Nov. 7, 2018. (U.S. Defense Department courtesy of Lisa Fenton/Canadian Forces Support Unit)
Norway plans to almost double its defense spending over the next 12 years as the energy-rich nation seeks to adapt to threats from neighboring Russia.
The Nordic country will boost spending on its military by $56 billion by 2036, the Labor-led minority government said in a statement Friday, laying out a new long-term defense plan focused on strengthening its navy and air defense.
The plan adds to the picture of steeply growing military investments across the Nordic region, which has undergone one of the biggest security policy shifts in Europe after Finland and Sweden joined the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
The announcement comes after the Norwegian government said last month it will reach its target for spending as part of the defense alliance - at 2% of gross domestic product - already in 2024, two years earlier than planned. The new plan means Norway’s defense spending would reach 2.7% of GDP by 2030.
“Norway is a nation with considerable maritime interests,” the government said. “Combined with our immediate proximity to Russia’s nuclear submarine force, maintaining situational awareness in the High North and in the North Atlantic is paramount.”
Under the plan, the NATO member will buy “a minimum of five new frigates with anti-submarine warfare capability as well as minimum of five new submarines.” It will also procure new long-range surveillance drones and satellites, and boost ground-based air defense systems as well as long-range air defense capability, the cabinet said.
The number of conscripts will also be increased by 50% by the end of the plan period, the Defense Minister Bjorn Arild Gram said.
