Norwegian Armed Forces

Norwegian Armed Forces Forsvaret
Coat of arms
Founded	9th Century
Current form	1990
Service branches	Army Navy (Coast Guard) Air Force Home Guard Cyber Defence
Headquarters	Akershus Fortress
Leadership
King	Harald V
Prime Minister	Erna Solberg
Minister of Defence	Ine Marie Eriksen Søreide
Chief of Defence	Admiral Haakon Bruun-Hanssen
Manpower
Military age	18-44(55) years of age for male compulsory military service (55 years of age if you are an officer); 16 years of age in wartime; 17 years of age for male volunteers; 18 years of age for women
Conscription	19-month service with 12-month service obligation. Around 50% of conscripts are enrolled in the Home Guard, for a 7-month period (spread out over many years).
Available for military service	1,078,181 males, age 16-55, 1,046,550 females, age 16-55
Fit for military service	888,219 males, age 16-55, 863,255 females, age 16-55
Reaching military age annually	31,980 males, 30,543 females
Active personnel	24,450[1]
Reserve personnel	45,250
Expenditures
Budget	US$7.2 billion (2014)[2]
Percent of GDP	1.4% of GDP (2012 est.) List of countries by military expenditures
Related articles
History	Norwegian Campaign World War II Milorg XU Norwegian Independent Company 1 Osvald Group Oslogjengen Norwegian resistance movement Free Norwegian forces Battle of Drøbak Sound Battle of the Atlantic Norwegian heavy water sabotage Operation Archery Shetland bus Operation Anklet Operation Mardonius Operation Cheese Battles of Narvik Operation Claymore Battle of Midtskogen Operation Sunshine Flight of the Norwegian National Treasury Thamshavn Line sabotage Normandy landings Invasion of Normandy No. 330 Squadron RAF No. 331 Squadron RAF No. 332 Squadron RAF No. 333 Squadron RAF Operation Overlord Operation Doomsday 99th Infantry Battalion (United States) Independent Norwegian Brigade Group in Germany Cold War Korean war NORMASH Vietnam War Operation 34A Gulf of Tonkin incident Congo Crisis United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon Falklands War [3] Gulf War Operation Desert Storm International Force for East Timor Operation Sky Monitor Operation Sharp Guard Implementation Force SFOR War in Kosovo Kosovo Force Operation Allied Force Operation Joint Guardian Incident at Pristina airport 2001 Macedonia conflict Operation Essential Harvest Operation Eagle Assist Operation Active Endeavour War in Afghanistan Task Force K-Bar Operation Enduring Freedom Operation Harekate Yolo Operation Anaconda Operation Jacana International Security Assistance Force Operation Pickaxe-Handle Operation chashme naw Operation Karez 2008 Kabul Serena Hotel attack Release of hostage Christina Meier April 2012 Afghanistan attacks Hostage incident at Qargha Reservoir / Lake Qara june 2012 Uzbin Valley ambush (after action only) Counterinsurgency in Northern Afghanistan Operation Ocean Shield Multi-National Force – Iraq Operation Atalanta Libyan no-fly zone Operation Odyssey Dawn Operation Ocean Shield Destruction of Syria's chemical weapons Icelandic Air Policing Baltic Air Policing Operation Resolute Support Combined Joint Task Force – Operation Inherent Resolve 2015 Spanish Embassy attack in Kabul Military intervention against ISIL Icelandic Air Policing 2009/2011/2014/2016 Baltic Air Policing 2005/2007/2015 United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali ** Only a small selection of engagements / missions performed by the Norwegian armed forces / saboturs / resistance forces **

The Norwegian Armed Forces (Norwegian: Forsvaret, "The Defence") is the military organisation responsible for the defence of Norway. It consists of five branches, the Norwegian Army, the Royal Norwegian Navy, which includes the Coast Guard, the Royal Norwegian Air Force, the Home Guard and the Cyber Force, as well as several joint departments. The armed forces number 23,000 personnel, including civilian employees, and have a full-mobilisation combat strength of 83,000.^[4]

The armed forces are subordinate to the Ministry of Defence, led by Ine Marie Eriksen Søreide. The formal commander-in-chief is King Harald V; however, the de facto commander-in-chief is Chief of Defence Haakon Bruun-Hanssen. His staff is located at Akershus Fortress in Oslo, while the Norwegian Joint Headquarters, responsible for commanding operations, is located in Bodø. The main naval base is Haakonsvern in Bergen, the main army camps are in Bardu, Målselv and Rena, and the main air station is Ørland.

An organised military was first assembled in Norway in the 9th century and was early focused around naval warfare. The army was created in 1628 as part of Denmark–Norway, followed by two centuries of regular wars. A Norwegian military was established in 1814, but the military did not see combat until the German occupation of Norway in 1940. Norway abandoned its position as a neutral country in 1949 to become a founding member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO). The Cold War saw a large build-up of air stations and military bases, especially in Northern Norway. Since the 2000s, the military has transformed from a focus on defence from an invasion to a mobile force for international missions. Among European NATO members, the military expenditure of US$7.2 billion is the highest per capita.

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 Army
• Royal Norwegian Navy
• Royal Norwegian Air Force
• Home Guard
• Norwegian Cyber Force
• Norwegian Special Operations Command (NORSOCOM) (established January 2014)^[5]

Other main structures, include:

• Defence Staff Norway (DEFSTNOR) in Oslo 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 Kolsås outside Oslo is responsible for engineering, procurement, investment, supply, information and communications technology. It is also responsible for maintenance, repair and storage of material.

Conscription

Norway employs a weak form of mandatory military service for men and women. While 63,841 men and women were called in for the examination of persons liable for military service in 2012 (mandatory for men), 9265 were conscripted.^[6] In 2015 conscription was extended to women making Norway the first NATO member and first European country to make national service compulsory for both men and women.^[7] There is a right of conscientious objection.

Structure

Joint

• 1 National Joint Headquarters in Bodø
• 12 Home Guard districts
• Tactical Mobile Land/Maritime Command
• Joint ISTAR Unit (Intelligence, Surveillance, Target Acquisition and Reconnaissance)
  • Module based ISTAR Unit
  • Norwegian Coastal Ranger Command (Kystjegerkommandoen in Norwegian)
  • Unmanned aerial vehicle 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
• NRBC protection (Nuclear, radiological, biological, chemical weapons )
• Explosive Ordnance Disposal
• Joint C2I Unit (command, control and information)
• Civil Military Coordination Unit (CIMIC)
• Deployable logistical support
• 2 mobilisation host country battalions (logistics for allied reinforcements)

Norwegian soldier during a field exercise

Norwegian Army

From 1 August 2009 the Norwegian Army changed its structure:^[8][9]

• Brigade Nord (operational units)
• Army Weapons School
• HM the Kings Guard
• Garnisonen i Sør-Varanger
• Military Academy
• Logistics and Operational Support
• Operation Support Detachment

Royal Norwegian Navy

• 5 Fridtjof Nansen class Aegis frigates
• 6 Skjold class fast missile boats.
• 6 Ula class submarines
• Mine Warfare Capability
  • 6 (8) Oksøy class mine hunter and Alta class mine sweeper
  • Mine Clearance Command (divers); HNoMS Tyr support vessel
• Naval Special Warfare Group
  • Norwegian Coastal Ranger Command
  • Mine Clearance Command (divers)
  • Tactical Boat Squadron (CB90-Class fast assault craft)
• Logistics/Support Capacity
• Coast Guard
  • 1 Svalbard class vessel
  • 3 Barentshav class vessels
  • 3 Nordkapp class OPV
  • Leased vessels (KV Tromsø and KV Ålesund, KV Harstad, 6 ocean patrol vessels)
  • Inner coast guard (25 leased vessels)
  • Tug capacity
  • Strategic Sealift

Royal Norwegian Air Force

• 72 + 2(1987) F-16 Fighting Falcon about 50-60 operational. (Being replaced by 52 F-35A)
• 2 Air Control Centre/Recognized Air picture Production Centre/Sensor Fusion post (ARS Sørreisa and ARS Mågerø)
• Strategic Airlift / Aerial refueling (common NATO projects)
• Maritime surveillance (4 x P-3C Orion and 2 x P-3N Orion)
• Electronic Warfare (2 + 1 DA-20 Jet Falcon)
• Transport 4x C-130J Super Hercules
• Air Defence Artillery (NASAMS 2)
• Air Wing for Special Forces (6 x Bell 412)
• 18 Bell 412 transport and light attack helicopters
• 6 NH-90 maritime helicopters (frigates)
• Deployable base support
• 12 Sea King search and rescue helicopters

Norwegian Home Guard

• Home Guard (Air, Sea and Land)

Norwegian Cyber Defence Force

• Norwegian Cyber Defence Force

Norwegian Special Operations Command

• Forsvarets spesialkommando (FSK)
• Marinejegerkommandoen (MJK)

Small arms and handguns

• Heckler & Koch MP5 - some replaced by MP7
• Heckler & Koch MP7
• Heckler & Koch HK416 - standard assault rifle
• M320 grenade launcher - used as a grenade launcher on the HK 416 and as a standalone weapon
• Heckler & Koch HK417
• Heckler & Koch G36 - special forces only,
• Colt Canada C7 rifle - special forces only
• Colt Canada C8 rifle - special forces only
• AG3 - former standard assault rifle; currently used by parts of the Home Guard
• Våpensmia NM149
• Barrett M82
• Glock 17 - to be replaced by the MP7 in some areas
• Heckler & Koch USP - in use with some special forces
• Rheinmetall MG3 - will be replaced by FN MINIMI and FN MAG
• FN Minimi
• M2 Browning - known as 12,7 MITR
• ERYX
• BGM-71 TOW
• M72 LAW - light anti-armour weapon
• Carl Gustav recoilless rifle - anti-armour weapon
• FGM-148 Javelin - anti-armour guided missile^[10]

Trivia

The Armed Forces ordered a Meatless Monday in November 2013, where only vegetarian rations are served. The press statements read, that this serves as a mean to “fight climate change”.^[11][12]

References

1. The Military Balance 2013 (2013 ed.). International Institute for Security Studies. 14 May 2013. pp. 160–162. ISBN 978-1857436808.
2. "The Norwegian Defence Budget for 2014". October 15, 2013.
3. "Norsk lyttestasjon viktig brikke i Falklandskrigen". Retrieved 24 December 2014.
4. "Tall og statistikk - Forsvaret.no". NDF. Retrieved 2013-03-18.
5. deBlanc-Knowles, Tess (6 October 2015). "Creation of a Norwegian SOCOM: Challenges and Opportunities". Global SOF Foundation. Retrieved 17 September 2016.
6. "NDF official numbers". NDF. Retrieved 2007-07-16.
7. "Universal Conscription". Norwegian Armed Forces. 11 June 2015. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 25 June 2016.
8. "Front page - Mil.no" (PDF). Retrieved 24 December 2014.
9. "Front page - Mil.no" (PDF). Retrieved 24 December 2014.
10. "Perfecting the Javelin simulator - the new anti-armor weapon is being phased in this year". Hærens Styrker. 17 March 2009. Retrieved 17 June 2009.
11. Smith, Jennifer (2013-11-20). "Norwegian army goes vegetarian as it goes to war against climate change by cutting 'ecologically unfriendly' foods". Daily Mail. Retrieved 2016-01-18.
12. Saul, Heather (2013-11-30). "Norwegian army placed on strict vegetarian diet". The Independent. Retrieved 2016-01-18.

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.
• Norwegian and Danish defence policy: A comparative study of the post-Cold War era A historical and comparative study published by the Norwegian Institute for Defence Studies. Free download.