Press Release

No: 051/96
25.09.1996

Historic termination of the military assistance program

Secretary of Defense William Perry and Minister of Defence Jørgen Kosmo will sign a termination agreement for the Military Assistance Program on Friday 27 September 1996. The termination agreement represents the end of an important area for both the United States of America and Norway. The material transferred to Norway since the establishment of the program in 1950 has constituted the back bone of the Norwegian defence capacity after the Second World War and during the Cold War. The rights for the residual material transferred to Norway under the Military Assistance Program will be bought by Norway under the termination agreement.

The Mutual Defense Assistance Agreement between Norway and the United States of America was established under article 3 of the North Atlantic Treaty (1949) whereby the parties to the treaty undertook a responsibility to maintain and develop individual and collective capacity to resist an armed attack.

The United States of America and Norway have mutually agreed to terminate the program because the material has come to the end of its operational life and is now in the process of being phased out. The agreed price for transferring the residual rights to the Norwegian government is USD 1.8 million.

Norway has received significant amounts of material, including approximately 8,000 combat and transport vehicles, nearly 500 units of artillery, 170,000 small arms and in excess of 600 planes and helicopters. In addition an agreement (Norwegian Bureau of Shipping no. 4070) for a significant strengthening of the Navy was established in 1960 under the same program. A total of 50 vessels were built under this agreement with mutual financing (50%/50%) from the US and Norway.

According to the original agreement, US concurrence is required prior to destruction or third party transfer of the material. Seventy percent of the gross revenue for material being sold is reverted to the US (50% for vessels). Under the termination agreement, US concurrence is no longer required for destruction of the material. US concurrence is, however, still required for third party transfers for significant defence equipment of US origin.