Norway selects British-made frigates to beef up maritime defence in $17 billion deal
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Norway's Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere, Defence Minister Tore O. Sandvik and Chief of Defence Eirik Kristoffersen speaking to media at the Prime Minister's Office in Oslo, Norway.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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OSLO – Norway said on Aug 31 that it had chosen Britain as its strategic partner for the acquisition of new frigates in its biggest ever military investment, in a deal worth £10 billion (S$17.4 billion) to boost the Nordic country’s maritime defence.
Germany, France, Britain and the US had offered rival frigate designs in competition.
“The frigates are an essential part of our defence because they are key to defend our sovereignty,” Norway’s Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere told a press conference.
Norway is Nato’s monitor for the vast two million sq km area of the North Atlantic used by the Russian northern fleet’s nuclear submarines.
A key mission for the frigates will be to monitor Russian submarines, whose base is on the Kola Peninsula – an area in the Arctic bordering Norway.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer welcomed the deal, which he said was worth £10 billion.
The deal will eventually see a combined fleet of 13 anti-submarine warfare frigates – eight British and at least five Norwegian – operate jointly in northern Europe, he added.
British officials, seeking economies of scale for their own navy and to boost Scotland’s shipyard industry, had heavily promoted the BAE Systems’ frigates, known as the T-26 City-class.
The deal would support 4,000 jobs across Britain, including more than 2,000 in Scotland, the British government said.
Norway shares a border with Russia and is ramping up defence spending in light of Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine and US President Donald Trump’s demand that Nato allies must bolster their own military strength.
The draft agreement with Britain also guarantees industrial cooperation with Norwegian industry equivalent to the total value of the acquisition, the Norwegian government said.
Norway, a nation of 5.6 million people, currently operates four frigates. It previously said it could order five frigates, with an option for an additional one.
“This will be the biggest purchase to date. And we are now entering final contract negotiations,” Mr Gahr Stoere said. REUTERS
