Norwegian Defence Force
Encyclopedia
The Norwegian Armed Forces (Norwegian:
Forsvaret ("The Defence")) numbers about 23,000 personnel, including civilian employees. According to mobilisation plans , the strength during full mobilisation would be approximately 83,000 combatant personnel. Norway
has mandatory military service for men (6–12 months of training) and voluntary service for women. Norway has the highest military expenditures per capita in Europe
.
The Armed Forces sorts under the Norwegian Ministry of Defence
. The formal Commander-in-chief
is H.M. King Harald V
. However, the Chief of Defense (Norwegian "Forsvarssjefen") is the de facto Commander-in-chief.
Under Norwegian constitutional practice, the Minister of Defence is accountable to Parliament for all activities carried out by the agencies under his or her responsibility.
The Ministry of Defence (MoD
) has been since 2003 an integrated structure with civilian and military personnel. Subordinate to the MoD are the "Armed Forces Military Organisation" as well as the three civilian agencies: the Norwegian Defence Research Establishment
(FFI), the National Security Agency and the Defence Estate Agency.
The main annual national exercise is Cold Response
, held yearly, with all NATO member states invited.
Military branches (in order of seniority):
Other main structures, include:
Norwegian language
Norwegian is a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Norway, where it is the official language. Together with Swedish and Danish, Norwegian forms a continuum of more or less mutually intelligible local and regional variants .These Scandinavian languages together with the Faroese language...
Forsvaret ("The Defence")) numbers about 23,000 personnel, including civilian employees. According to mobilisation plans , the strength during full mobilisation would be approximately 83,000 combatant personnel. Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
has mandatory military service for men (6–12 months of training) and voluntary service for women. Norway has the highest military expenditures per capita in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
.
The Armed Forces sorts under the Norwegian Ministry of Defence
Norwegian Ministry of Defence
The Royal Norwegian Ministry of Defence is a Norwegian government ministry in charge of the formation and implementation of national security and defence policy, and for the overall management and control of the activities of subordinate agencies. The ministry is located at Glacisgata 1, Oslo,...
. The formal Commander-in-chief
Commander-in-Chief
A commander-in-chief is the commander of a nation's military forces or significant element of those forces. In the latter case, the force element may be defined as those forces within a particular region or those forces which are associated by function. As a practical term it refers to the military...
is H.M. King Harald V
Harald V of Norway
Harald V is the king of Norway. He succeeded to the throne of Norway upon the death of his father Olav V on 17 January 1991...
. However, the Chief of Defense (Norwegian "Forsvarssjefen") is the de facto Commander-in-chief.
Under Norwegian constitutional practice, the Minister of Defence is accountable to Parliament for all activities carried out by the agencies under his or her responsibility.
The Ministry of Defence (MoD
Norwegian Ministry of Defence
The Royal Norwegian Ministry of Defence is a Norwegian government ministry in charge of the formation and implementation of national security and defence policy, and for the overall management and control of the activities of subordinate agencies. The ministry is located at Glacisgata 1, Oslo,...
) has been since 2003 an integrated structure with civilian and military personnel. Subordinate to the MoD are the "Armed Forces Military Organisation" as well as the three civilian agencies: the Norwegian Defence Research Establishment
Norwegian Defence Research Establishment
The Norwegian Defence Research Establishment is a research institute that conducts research and development on behalf of the Norwegian Armed Forces and provides expert advice to political and military defence leaders...
(FFI), the National Security Agency and the Defence Estate Agency.
The main annual national exercise is Cold Response
Cold Response
Cold Response is the name given to Norwegian exercises with invited Partnership for Peace countries held in northern Norway. The first one was the largest military exercise in Norway in 2006. Around 10,000 soldiers from 11 nations participated. It was a national Norwegian exercise with all NATO...
, held yearly, with all NATO member states invited.
Organisation
The Chief of Defence (a four-star general or admiral) heads the armed forces, and is the principal military adviser to the Minister of Defence.Military branches (in order of seniority):
- Norwegian ArmyNorwegian ArmyNorway achieved full independence in 1905, and in the first century of its short life has contributed to two major conflicts, the Cold War and the War on Terror. The Norwegian Army currently operates in the north of Norway and in Afghanistan as well as in Eastern Europe. The Army is the oldest of...
- Royal Norwegian NavyRoyal Norwegian NavyThe Royal Norwegian Navy is the branch of the Norwegian Defence Force responsible for naval operations. , the RNoN consists of approximately 3,700 personnel and 70 vessels, including 5 heavy frigates, 6 submarines, 14 patrol boats, 4 minesweepers, 4 minehunters, 1 mine detection vessel, 4 support...
- Royal Norwegian Air ForceRoyal Norwegian Air ForceThe Royal Norwegian Air Force is the air force of Norway. It was established as a separate arm of the Norwegian armed forces on 10 November 1944. The RNoAF's peace force is approximately 1,430 employees . 600 personnel also serve their draft period in the RNoAF...
- Home Guard
Other main structures, include:
- Special forces
- Defence Staff Norway (DEFSTNOR) in OsloOsloOslo is a municipality, as well as the capital and most populous city in Norway. As a municipality , it was established on 1 January 1838. Founded around 1048 by King Harald III of Norway, the city was largely destroyed by fire in 1624. The city was moved under the reign of Denmark–Norway's King...
acts as the staff of the Chief of Defence. It is headed by a three star general or admiral. DEFSTNOR assigns priorities, manages resources, provides force generation and support activities. Each of the four branches of defence is headed by a two star general/admiral who are subordinate to DEFSTNOR. - National Joint Headquarters (NJHQ) located at Reitan, close to Bodø has operational control of Norwegian armed forces worldwide 24/7. It is headed by the Supreme Commander Norwegian Forces - a three star general or admiral.
- Norwegian Defence Logistics Organisation (NDLO) at KolsåsKolsåsKolsås is a wooded mountain ridge in the municipality of Bærum, Norway. Geologically, Kolsås belongs to the Oslo Graben area. Its two peaks consist of hard rhomb porphyric lava covering softer rocks, forming steep cliffs to the east, south and west....
outside OsloOsloOslo is a municipality, as well as the capital and most populous city in Norway. As a municipality , it was established on 1 January 1838. Founded around 1048 by King Harald III of Norway, the city was largely destroyed by fire in 1624. The city was moved under the reign of Denmark–Norway's King...
is responsible for engineering, procurement, investment, supply, information and communications technology. It is also responsible for maintenance, repair and storage of material.
Joint
- 1 National Joint Headquarters in BodøBodøis a city and a municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is part of the Salten region.The city of Bodø was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 . Bodin was merged with Bodø on 1 January 1968. Skjerstad was merged with Bodø on 1 January 2005...
- 12 Home Guard districts
- Tactical Mobile Land/Maritime Command
- Special forces
- FSK (Forsvarets spesialkommando) (the equivalent to the UK Special Air ServiceSpecial Air ServiceSpecial Air Service or SAS is a corps of the British Army constituted on 31 May 1950. They are part of the United Kingdom Special Forces and have served as a model for the special forces of many other countries all over the world...
, the US Delta ForceDelta Force1st Special Forces Operational Detachment-Delta is one of the United States' secretive Tier One counter-terrorism and Special Mission Units. Commonly known as Delta Force, Delta, or The Unit, it was formed under the designation 1st SFOD-D, and is officially referred to by the Department of Defense...
or the Canadian JTF2).
- FSK (Forsvarets spesialkommando) (the equivalent to the UK Special Air Service
-
- HJK (Hærens Jegerkommando)Hærens JegerkommandoHærens Jegerkommando is a special forces unit of the Norwegian military. It is the armed forces competence center for commando, airborne and counter terrorist duty in the Norwegian Army. Its headquarters are located 30 km...
- MJK (Marinejegerkommandoen)MarinejegerkommandoenMarinejegerkommandoen is a Norwegian maritime special forces unit. It was formally established in 1951. It is located in Ramsund in the northern part of Norway and at Haakonsvern Naval Base in Bergen...
( the equivalent to the US Navy Seals or the UK Special Boat ServiceSpecial Boat ServiceThe Special Boat Service is the special forces unit of the British Royal Navy. Together with the Special Air Service, Special Reconnaissance Regiment and the Special Forces Support Group they form the United Kingdom Special Forces and come under joint control of the same Director Special...
). - 1 Air Wing, 720Sqn (has been relived of its special forces duties, and now work on medical evacuations).
- HJK (Hærens Jegerkommando)
- Joint ISTARISTARISTAR stands for Intelligence, Surveillance, Target Acquisition, and Reconnaissance. In its macroscopic sense, ISTAR is a practice that links several battlefield functions together to assist a combat force in employing its sensors and managing the information they gather.Information is collected on...
Unit (Intelligence, Surveillance, Target Acquisition and Reconnaissance)- Module based ISTAR Unit
- Norwegian Coastal Ranger Command (Kystjegerkommandoen in Norwegian)
- Unmanned aerial vehicleUnmanned aerial vehicleAn unmanned aerial vehicle , also known as a unmanned aircraft system , remotely piloted aircraft or unmanned aircraft, is a machine which functions either by the remote control of a navigator or pilot or autonomously, that is, as a self-directing entity...
capability
- Airborne Ground Surveillance (joint NATO project)
- Norwegian Home Guard - 50,000 personnel + 33,000 (reserve), rapid reaction forces, follow-on-forces, reinforcement forces and reserves.
- Capacity for information operations
- Norwegian Defence Security Department (NORDSD)
- Flexible medical units
- NRBCWeapons of mass destructionA weapon of mass destruction is a weapon that can kill and bring significant harm to a large number of humans and/or cause great damage to man-made structures , natural structures , or the biosphere in general...
protection (Nuclear, radiological, biological, chemical weapons ) - Explosive Ordnance DisposalBomb disposalBomb disposal is the process by which hazardous explosive devices are rendered safe. Bomb disposal is an all encompassing term to describe the separate, but interrelated functions in the following fields:*Military:...
- Joint C2ICommand and control warfareCommand and control warfare encompasses all the military tactics that use communications technology. It can be abbreviated as . An older name for these tactics is signals warfare, derived from the name given to communications by the military....
Unit (command, control and information) - Civil Military Coordination Unit (CIMICCivil-Military Co-operationCivil-Military Co-operation is the military function through which a commander links to civilian agencies active in a theatre of operations.-History:The United States Army has, since the Second World War, maintained Civil Affairs units...
) - Deployable logistical support
- 2 mobilisation host country battalions (logistics for allied reinforcements)
Norwegian Army
With August 1, 2009 the Norwegian Army changed its structure:- Brigade NordBrigade NordBrigade Nord is the only brigade in the Norwegian Army. It is mostly based in mid-Troms north of the Arctic Circle. Until 2009, the brigade was part of the 6th Division.-Units:...
(operational units) - Norwegian Army Special Forces CommandHærens JegerkommandoHærens Jegerkommando is a special forces unit of the Norwegian military. It is the armed forces competence center for commando, airborne and counter terrorist duty in the Norwegian Army. Its headquarters are located 30 km...
- Army Weapons School
- HM the Kings GuardHans Majestet Kongens GardeHans Majestet Kongens Garde is a battalion of the Norwegian Army. The battalion has two main roles; it serves as the Norwegian King's bodyguards, guarding the royal residences and Akershus Fortress in Oslo, and is also the main infantry unit responsible for the defence of...
- Garnisonen i Sør-VarangerGarnisonen i Sør-VarangerThe Sør-Varanger Garrison is a military camp located next to Høybuktmoen Airport near Kirkenes in Sør-Varanger, Norway. The Garrison is under the control of the Norwegian Army and is organized as a battalion. The garrison...
- Military Academy
- Logistics and Operational Support
- Operation Support Detachment
- Home Guard (Land)
Royal Norwegian Navy
- 5 Fridtjof Nansen classFridtjof Nansen class frigateThe Fridtjof Nansen-class frigates are the main surface combatant units of the Royal Norwegian Navy. The ships are named after famous Norwegian explorers, with the lead ship of the class bearing the name of Fridtjof Nansen, the Norwegian scientist, explorer and humanitarian.Five ships were ordered...
AegisAegis combat systemThe Aegis Combat System is an integrated naval weapons system developed by the Missile and Surface Radar Division of RCA, and now produced by Lockheed Martin...
frigates - four fully operational as of August 2010 - 6 Skjold classSkjold class patrol boatThe Skjold class patrol boats is a new class of superfast, large stealth missile craft, formerly known as MTBs . From 2009, the Royal Norwegian Navy officially label them as coastal corvettes because their seaworthiness is seen as comparable to corvettes. They are built at the Umoe Mandal yard...
fast patrol boats - - None operational as of September 2009 - 6 Ula classUla class submarineThe Ula class is a Norwegian submarine type which was assembled in Germany in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The class, consisting of 6 vessels, is currently the only submarine type in service with the Royal Norwegian Navy.-History:...
submarines - Mine Warfare Capability
- 6 (8) Oksøy class mine hunterOksøy class mine hunterThe Oksøy-class mine hunters are a class of vessels of the Royal Norwegian Navy active since the mid-1990s.Almost identical to the , the only differences are the equipment on the aft deck and aft 1. deck, the sonars , and the length of the superstructure on 1. deck...
and Alta class mine sweeper - Mine Clearance CommandMinedykkerkommandoenMinedykkerkommandoen is Norway's clearance diver group. It is a branch of the Norwegian naval defenses specializing in explosive ordnance disposal. MDK is subordinate to Minekrigsflotiljen , which is a division of the Norwegian Navy...
(divers); HNoMS TyrHNoMS Tyr (N50)HNoMS Tyr is a mine control vessel used for underwater search and recovery by the Royal Norwegian Navy.-History:Tyr was built at Voldnes Skipsverft in 1981 and was used as an offshore standby-ship in the North Sea under the name MS Sandby Master...
support vessel
- 6 (8) Oksøy class mine hunter
- Norwegian Coastal Ranger Command
- Naval Ranger CommandMarinejegerkommandoenMarinejegerkommandoen is a Norwegian maritime special forces unit. It was formally established in 1951. It is located in Ramsund in the northern part of Norway and at Haakonsvern Naval Base in Bergen...
- Tactical Naval Command
- Logistics/Support Capacity
- Home Guard (Sea)
- Coast GuardNorwegian Coast GuardThe Norwegian Coast Guard, or Kystvakten in Norwegian, is a military force and part of the Royal Norwegian Navy, but has separate vessels, many of which are purpose-built. All coast guard vessels have the prefix KV. Four of these vessels are capable of embarking one or more helicopters...
- 1 Svalbard class vessel
- 3 Barentshav class vessels
- 3 Nordkapp class OPVNordkapp class OPVThe Nordkapp class ships is a Norwegian ship class built in the 1980s, and is used for rescue, fishery inspection, research purposes and general EEZ patrol in Norwegian waters. It is a class of ships purpose built for the Norwegian Coast Guard with a secondary role as wartime naval escorts...
- Leased vessels (KV Tromsø and KV Ålesund, KV Harstad, 6 ocean patrol vessels)
- Inner coast guard (25 leased vessels)
- Tug capacity
- Strategic Sealift
- Home Guard (Sea) (235 patrol and Tug vessels)
Royal Norwegian Air Force
- 72 + 2(1987) F-16 Fighting FalconF-16 Fighting FalconThe General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon is a multirole jet fighter aircraft originally developed by General Dynamics for the United States Air Force . Designed as an air superiority day fighter, it evolved into a successful all-weather multirole aircraft. Over 4,400 aircraft have been built since...
about 50-60 operational. - 2 Air Control Centre/Recognized Air picture Production Centre/Sensor Fusion post (ARS SørreisaSørreisaSørreisa is a municipality in Troms county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Sørreisa.- General information :...
and ARS MågerøMågerøMågerø is a small peninsula just south of the Norwegian city of Tønsberg. It is a part of the island Tjøme, a typically Norwegian summer vacation area. Mågerø is the location of the Royal Norwegian Air Force control and alert station for the southern part of Norway...
) - Strategic Airlift / Aerial refueling (common NATO projects)
- Maritime surveillance (4 x P-3C OrionP-3 OrionThe Lockheed P-3 Orion is a four-engine turboprop anti-submarine and maritime surveillance aircraft developed for the United States Navy and introduced in the 1960s. Lockheed based it on the L-188 Electra commercial airliner. The aircraft is easily recognizable by its distinctive tail stinger or...
and 2 x P-3N OrionP-3 OrionThe Lockheed P-3 Orion is a four-engine turboprop anti-submarine and maritime surveillance aircraft developed for the United States Navy and introduced in the 1960s. Lockheed based it on the L-188 Electra commercial airliner. The aircraft is easily recognizable by its distinctive tail stinger or...
) - Electronic Warfare (2 + 1 DA-20 Jet FalconDassault Falcon 20The Dassault Falcon 20 is a French business jet and was the first of a family of business jets built by Dassault Aviation.-Design and development:...
) - Transport 4x C-130J Super HerculesC-130J Super HerculesThe Lockheed Martin C-130J "Super" Hercules is a four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft. The C-130J is a comprehensive update of the venerable Lockheed C-130 Hercules, with new engines, flight deck, and other systems. The Hercules family has the longest continuous production run of any...
- Air Defence Artillery (NASAMSNASAMSNASAMS is a distributed and networked medium to long range air-defence system. NASAMS was the first surface-based application for the AIM-120 AMRAAM and the first surface-to-air missile system in the western world with active radar guidance...
) - Air Wing for Special Forces (6 x Bell 412Bell 412The Bell 412 is a utility helicopter manufactured by Bell Helicopter. It is a development of the Bell 212 model, the major difference being the composite four-blade main rotor.-Design and development:...
) - Home Guard (Air)
- 18 Bell 412Bell 412The Bell 412 is a utility helicopter manufactured by Bell Helicopter. It is a development of the Bell 212 model, the major difference being the composite four-blade main rotor.-Design and development:...
transport and light attack helicopters - 6 NH-90NHI NH90The NHIndustries NH90 is a medium sized, twin-engine, multi-role military helicopter manufactured by NHIndustries. The first prototype had its maiden flight in December 1995...
maritime helicopters (frigates) - 4 Westland LynxWestland LynxThe Westland Lynx is a British multi-purpose military helicopter designed and built by Westland Helicopters at its factory in Yeovil. Originally intended as a utility craft for both civil and naval usage, military interest led to the development of both battlefield and naval variants...
Special Operations and maritime helicopters (Norwegian Coast GuardNorwegian Coast GuardThe Norwegian Coast Guard, or Kystvakten in Norwegian, is a military force and part of the Royal Norwegian Navy, but has separate vessels, many of which are purpose-built. All coast guard vessels have the prefix KV. Four of these vessels are capable of embarking one or more helicopters...
) - Deployable base support
- 12 Sea KingWestland Sea KingThe Westland WS-61 Sea King is a British licence-built version of the American Sikorsky S-61 helicopter of the same name, built by Westland Helicopters. The aircraft differs considerably from the American version, with Rolls-Royce Gnome engines , British made anti-submarine warfare systems and a...
search and rescue helicopters
Small arms and handguns
- Heckler & Koch MP5Heckler & Koch MP5The Heckler & Koch MP5 is a 9mm submachine gun of German design, developed in the 1960s by a team of engineers from the German small arms manufacturer Heckler & Koch GmbH of Oberndorf am Neckar....
- being replaced by MP7. - Heckler & Koch MP7Heckler & Koch MP7The MP7 is a German submachine gun manufactured by Heckler & Koch and chambered for the 4.6×30mm cartridge. It was designed with the new cartridge to meet NATO requirements published in 1989, as these requirements call for a personal defense weapon class firearm, with a greater ability to defeat...
- Heckler & Koch HK416 - standard assault rifle.
- Heckler & Koch HK417
- Heckler & Koch G36Heckler & Koch G36The Heckler & Koch G36 is a 5.56×45mm assault rifle, designed in the early 1990s by Heckler & Koch in Germany as a replacement for the 7.62mm G3 battle rifle. It was accepted into service with the Bundeswehr in 1997, replacing the G3...
- Special forces only, to be replaced by the HK416 - Colt Canada C7 rifle - Special forces only, to be replaced by the HK416
- Colt Canada C8 rifle - Special forces only, to be replaced by the HK416
- AG3 - former standard assault rifle. currently used by parts of the Home Guard
- Våpensmia NM149Våpensmia NM149The NM149 sniper rifle was developed by Våpensmia A/S in close cooperation with the Norwegian Army and is based on the tried and true Mauser M98 controlled feed bolt action. These actions originate from Mauser Karabiner 98k rifles left by German armed forces in Norway at the end of World War II in...
- Barrett M82
- Glock 17 - to be replaced by the MP7 in some areas.
- Rheinmetall MG3Rheinmetall MG3The MG3 is a German general-purpose machine gun chambered for the 7.62x51mm NATO cartridge. The weapon's design is derived from the World War II era MG 42 universal machine gun that fired the 7.92x57mm Mauser round....
- M72 LAWM72 LAWThe M72 LAW is a portable one-shot 66 mm unguided anti-tank weapon, designed in the United States by Paul V. Choate, Charles B. Weeks, and Frank A. Spinale et al...
- Light anti-armour weapon - Carl Gustav recoilless rifleCarl Gustav recoilless rifleThe Carl Gustav is the common name for the 84 mm man-portable reusable multi-role recoilless rifle produced by Saab Bofors Dynamics in Sweden...
- Anti-armour weapon - FGM-148 JavelinFGM-148 JavelinThe FGM-148 Javelin is a United States-made man-portable third generation anti-tank missile fielded to replace the Dragon antitank missile.-Overview:Javelin is a fire-and-forget missile with lock-on before launch and automatic self-guidance...
- Anti-armour guided missile
External links
- Royal Norwegian Ministry of Defence
- Norwegian Defence Force
- One for all, all for one? New Nordic Defence Partnership? Publication from the Nordic Council of Ministers. Free download.