Norway to Buy Fleet of British-Made Frigates For Its Navy

OSLO, Norway (AP) – The Norwegian government said Sunday that it plans to buy a fleet of British-made frigates for its navy.

Norway’s Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre said at a news conference that the Nordic country plans to buy five or six frigates, public broadcaster NRK reported. The NATO member needed the frigates because it “is facing its most serious security situation since World War II,” he said.

The United States, Germany and France were in the final round to get a contract to sell frigates to Norway, but the choice fell on the United Kingdom, Støre said.

“Norway and Great Britain are close allies with common interests and very close ties,” Støre said.

European countries that share a border with Russia have become increasingly nervous about their own security after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

The British Type 26 frigates were specially designed for locating, tracking and combating submarines. This was also one of the government’s main criteria for the purchase, NRK reported. The cost of the deal was not disclosed.