On Friday, Støre and Defense Minister Bjørn Arild Gram (Sp) will present their long-announced long-term plan for the Armed Forces.
– There will be a historic boost for the Armed Forces, says the Prime Minister to VG.
– You have heard me say many times that Norway does not threaten anyone. But we also have a responsibility to ensure that no one threatens us, he adds.
Required
Støre has previously said that health and defense will receive the largest amount of money from his government in the next few years – and that they must therefore prioritize very hard on the expenditure side of the state budgets.
Now Støre and Gram explain why it is necessary to make major investments in the national defense in the coming years:
– We are in a situation where a historic boost is required. The security policy in our part of the world has permanently changed after February 2022, when Russia attacked Ukraine, says Støre.
– Never before have the northern areas been more important to NATO, and Norway is part of the northern areas. We will not only defend ourselves, but also cooperate with the new member states Sweden and Finland. he points out.
Critical deficiencies
The last reason is the state the Armed Forces are in after many years of downsizing:
– Today’s defense is not adapted to today’s threat picture, says Støre.
– And today’s defense has critical shortcomings, gaps that must be closed before we can build on what we have. This government has made major investments in the Armed Forces ever since we took office in the autumn of 2021. Now we are following up with a historically large boost for the next twelve years. Then the details will come on Friday, says Støre.
NATO requirements not met
Norway has not fulfilled NATO’s requirement for a heavy infantry brigade with four battalions. NATO announced in 2023 that this was the alliance’s main concern for defence, because Norway, with its location, is a possible front-line state in an imagined attack from Russia.
At the same time, the Norwegian Navy does not have enough surface vessels and submarines to meet the national tasks, nor the readiness that NATO had requested. It was also a major concern for NATO.
According to Defense Minister Bjørn Arild Gram, there will soon be new demands from NATO that the government must also take into account.
– In the long-term plan, we will both strengthen our own ability to defend ourselves, and facilitate allied support for the new member states. In addition, we must take the demand for burden sharing seriously, says Gram.
Strengthen what we have
– Can we expect the long-term plan to meet both old and new NATO requirements?
– I think the answer is yes to both. But the final details about how and when will come on Friday, says Støre.
– We must both take care of what we have, and put ourselves in a position to help others when needed, adds Gram.
– On Friday, you will see that there will be new and large investments. But we also need to use significant resources to strengthen what we already have, says Støre.
Always present
– What do you mean by the Armed Forces not being adapted to today’s threat picture?
– Norway’s scope for action is greatest before a conflict breaks out. It is not just about full peace or full war, but about a complex threat picture. The armed forces must be enabled to be continuously present in the areas that are most important to us, says Bjørn Arild Gram.
The backlog
The backlog in the Armed Forces is well known and much talked about. The armed forces lack people. Contingency stocks for ammunition, fuel and spare parts are thin. And barracks, homes and garages must be built to increase the volume and take care of the material.
Chief of Defense Eirik Kristoffersen estimated last year that the Norwegian Armed Forces need an extra NOK 80 billion by 2028 to restore the current defence.
– Does the chief of defense get 80 billion for the backlog?
– I don’t want to go into detail about it now. The advice from the Chief of Defense and the Defense Commission was quite similar. But we have also made our own assessments, says Gram.
More conscripts
It is already known that the government will increase the number of conscripts called up to the Armed Forces from the current level of 9,000, to approximately 13,600 annually in 2036. Recruit training will be gathered at Madla and Elverum.
The government has also sent out a press release stating that the Norwegian Armed Forces Command School is being added to Kjevik.
