The government will spend 12.5 billion on air defense – news Norway – Overview of news from various parts of the country

The government announced on Wednesday that it wants to spend NOK 12.5 billion on strengthening air defense in Norway. – In sum, 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 air defenses that have been donated to Ukraine as quickly as possible, says Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre (Ap). The government’s proposal must be processed in the Storting before the plans can be implemented. The package the government is putting forward contains, among other things, three different missiles with shorter, medium and longer range, and new missiles for the combat air defense vehicles. Increased demand In addition, all air defense that Norway has donated to Ukraine must be replaced. – Now we are taking the step to the next generation of air defense. We are at a turning point for security in Europe and it is urgent for Norway to put a modern air defense in place, says Defense Minister Bjørn Arild Gram (Sp). The Government writes in the press release that the war in Ukraine has shown that air defense is central, and that the demand for the Government believes that it is “very important” that Norway orders air defense material now. – Delivery times are longer than we would have liked. This is precisely why it is important that we have taken extraordinary measures to speed up the orders. Further development of the air defense will be a central theme in the upcoming long-term plan, says Gram. – Investments that secure the country The package that the government presents contains the following: Three different missiles for the Nasams system. These must have both short, medium and long range. Eight launch units and four fire control centers for Nasams. New missiles for the Armed Forces’ anti-aircraft combat vehicles. Of the total NOK 12.5 billion that the government wants to spend, approximately NOK 5.1 billion is the re-acquisition of donations financed with funds from the Nansen programme. NOK 7.4 billion are funds from the regular budget for follow-up of the Armed Forces’ long-term plan. – These are investments that secure the country and that provide predictability for the Norwegian defense industry, says Gram.



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