A total defence that provides security, promotes activity and enhances preparedness
Photo: Kristian Berg/Forsvaret
Norway needs to strengthen its defence capabilities on land, at sea, in the air, in the digital domain and in outer space. Norway is giving priority to enhancing national situational awareness capacity, increasing physical presence, facilitating continuous operations and ensuring adaptable responses, both alone and together with Allies. The Storting (Norwegian parliament) has unanimously adopted a historic plan for upgrading the Armed Forces in the period from 2025 to 2036.
Civilian society, too, must be equipped to deal with crisis and war, and must be capable of backing up military efforts and resisting complex threats. We must build up civilian resilience, particularly in the north.
Security through greater Armed Forces presence
The Government has proposed Reitan, in the municipality of Bodø, as the permanent location for NATO’s new Combined Air Operations Centre (CAOC). The air operations centre will strengthen the role of the region as a hub in the Alliance. A major investment in land forces is also planned. By 2032, the Finnmark Land Command will be expanded to become the Finnmark Brigade, with Porsangmoen Base as the centre of activity. Steps will be taken to strengthen the Home Guard’s capacity to conduct operations in Troms and Finnmark counties. The further development of the newly established Tromsø rapid response force in the Nord-Hålogaland Home Guard District (HV-16) will continue. A new rapid response force is being created for operations in Finnmark.
Creating a framework for extensive Allied presence in North Norway is another important element. Bardufoss Air Station, the Setermoen garrison and associated firing ranges are defined as Agreed Facilities and Areas under the Supplementary Defense Cooperation Agreement (SDCA) between Norway and the US. The agreement provides the basis for further developing military cooperation with the US in these places and increasing US presence in the region.
In order to strengthen cooperation between the countries in the northern Nordic region, the Government will ensure that training exercises, including for crisis and war scenarios, are held regularly and involve both civilian and military actors. Norway will also participate in joint exercises such as the Rescue Borealis exercise in Finland in autumn 2025. Actors that are well prepared and have trained together across national borders to prepare for emergencies provide greater security for the population not only in times of crisis and war, but also in peacetime.
Investments in defence help to build strong local communities
The planned defence investments in North Norway will provide security for the population while also supporting the development of civilian infrastructure and strengthening innovation capacity in the region. The next 10 years will see over NOK 50 billion in investments and the creation of more than 1 700 new jobs in the north, under the Long-term Defence Plan. There will also be an expanded Allied presence and an increase in the number of reservists and conscripts. All this will open up major opportunities for value creation.
The defence sector and local communities are to cooperate on developing strong urban and rural centres, meeting places and suitable housing. Civilian-military cooperation will also increase the number of young people in Finnmark who are motivated to serve in the Armed Forces. It is important to build local communities that can provide the Armed Forces and Allied partners with the support they need from the business sector and other civilian actors in the event of a crisis or war. Having multiple local and regional suppliers to the Armed Forces strengthens civilian preparedness and promotes more vibrant local communities.
Early involvement of the local community and good meeting places are essential to ensure that the development of infrastructure for the Armed Forces adequately safeguards the interests of the local population. Increased defence activity in the region will give due consideration to Sámi culture and traditional Sámi industries. The Government will maintain a dialogue with affected reindeer husbandry districts on matters related to military exercises, training and other military needs. This includes area zoning plans to provide a predictable framework for the use of firing ranges and training areas.
Strengthening civilian resilience
The Government will develop a dedicated zone for national initiatives to strengthen civilian preparedness in Troms and Finnmark, based on NATO’s baseline requirements for resilience in critical civilian societal functions. Norway’s northern municipalities play a crucial role in national emergency preparedness. To fulfil their responsibilities and obligations in this area, the municipalities are dependent on access to adequate expertise and capacity. The Government will work to increase both capacity and expertise, giving special priority to eastern Finnmark. The Norwegian Civil Defence is an important resource in this context, and the Government will ensure that the Civil Defence has a local presence and that municipalities have access to its services.
The Government will ensure that the central government administration increases it presence in North Norway in order to build expertise, contact networks and cooperation across sectors and administrative levels in the region as well as between Norway, Finland and Sweden. Cross-sectoral cooperation has already been established between regional health authorities and the Armed Forces on dealing with mass-casualty events in the north. The Norwegian Directorate for Civil Protection (DSB) has been given national responsibility for tasks relating to total defence and civilian protection measures, with special focus on the Norwegian High North, and eastern Finnmark in particular.
The Government will create a framework to enable the municipalities involved in defence-related activities to hold regular exercises with relevant emergency preparedness actors to train to provide support to the military, including in a conflict situation. Municipalities designated to receive Allied forces are to be given special follow-up by the Armed Forces.
Norway will continue to take part in Nordic cooperation on personnel security in connection with the operation and maintenance of digital infrastructure, health preparedness, security of supply and mass evacuation planning. We are seeking to enter into binding cooperation with Sweden on ensuring security of supply, modelled on the existing agreement with Finland.