The Norwegian Parliament has approved a plan to purchase long-range artillery worth $2 billion.
On Tuesday, 27 January, the Norwegian Parliament approved a plan to purchase long-range artillery worth a total of approximately $2 billion. The decision is aimed at strengthening deterrence against Russia in the Arctic region, where Norway shares a border with the Russian Federation. This was reported by The Publicwith reference to Reuters.
According to the parliament, the new systems are capable of striking deep into enemy territory, which is a key factor in modern warfare. Representatives of the opposition Conservative Party stressed that such capabilities play a decisive role in the changed security conditions in Europe.
According to the Norwegian publication Aftenposten, the country's government opted for the South Korean Chunmoo multiple launch rocket system manufactured by Hanwha Aerospace. It beat out the American HIMARS system. According to sources, Chunmoo met all the requirements of the Norwegian side, in particular regarding a range of up to 500 kilometres, and also had the shortest delivery times.
The Norwegian Ministry of Defence plans to purchase 16 launchers and an unspecified number of missiles. The total cost of the programme is 19.5 billion Norwegian kroner. The official announcement of the tender winner is expected in the near future.
European countries are generally in the process of sharply increasing their defence spending. This is facilitated by both Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine and pressure from the administration of US President Donald Trump to strengthen the defence responsibilities of NATO countries.
It is worth noting that Hanwha Aerospace already has an agreement with the Polish company WB Electronics for the joint production of missiles in Poland. This means that some of the weapons for the Norwegian artillery will be manufactured in Europe.
Source and photo: Reuters.
Norway, HIMARS, USA,
