Norway’s defence spending surges to $4.55 billion for new submarines

Norway plans to purchase two more submarines from Germany, along with a separate acquisition of long-range artillery, the country’s defence ministry announced on December 5.

The costs for both purchases have risen significantly, partly due to high global demand for military equipment.

The submarine order supplements four vessels Norway initially ordered from Germany’s Thyssenkrupp in 2021, at a total value of 45 billion Norwegian crowns. The new submarines will also be procured from Thyssenkrupp. The updated order is expected to cost 46 billion crowns ($4.55 billion), bringing the total price for all six submarines to nearly 100 billion crowns. The increase reflects inflation in raw material prices as well as the higher costs of defence equipment.

The move comes as NATO members boost their defence budgets under pressure from the U.S. administration of President Donald Trump and in response to the ongoing war in Ukraine.

Norway has a strategic role as NATO’s monitor of a vast 2 million square kilometre (772,000 square mile) region of the North Atlantic, an area frequented by Russia’s Northern Fleet nuclear submarines. A primary mission for the submarines will be tracking Russian vessels based on the Kola Peninsula, a key Arctic area bordering Norway.

“We see that Russian forces in the North Atlantic and the Barents Sea are increasing their activities,” Defence Minister Tore Sandvik said in a statement. The ministry expects the first of the six submarines to be delivered in 2029.

Separately, Norway plans to acquire long-range missiles for its army, capable of striking targets up to 500 km (310 miles) away, at a cost of 19 billion crowns. The war in Ukraine, with its emphasis on missile attacks, has underscored the importance for Western nations to enhance such offensive capabilities.

“It is important we have a defence capability that can deter a possible enemy from doing us harm,” Sandvik added.

By Tamilla Hasanova