Norway has chosen Britain as its strategic partner for the acquisition of new frigates in what Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre on Sunday described as the country’s largest-ever military investment.
The deal, worth an estimated £10 billion (US$13.5 billion), is designed to modernise Norway’s navy and strengthen NATO’s northern defences amid growing Russian activity in the Arctic and North Atlantic.
Britain’s BAE Systems secured the contract following a competitive tender that also included bids from Germany, France, and the United States.
The Norwegian government said the new frigates will form the backbone of its maritime defence strategy, providing advanced anti-submarine warfare capabilities.
“The frigates are an essential part of our defence because they are key to defend our sovereignty,” Støre told a press conference.
Norway is NATO’s designated monitor of a vast two million square kilometre expanse of the North Atlantic, a region critical to allied security.
The waters are regularly patrolled by Russia’s Northern Fleet, which deploys nuclear submarines from its Kola Peninsula base, an area directly bordering Norway.
A primary mission of the new frigates will be to monitor and deter this submarine activity, ensuring NATO maintains control of vital sea lanes between North America and Europe.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer welcomed the agreement, calling it a “landmark defence partnership” that would result in a combined fleet of 13 advanced anti-submarine frigates—eight British and at least five Norwegian—operating together in northern Europe.
“The deal is worth £10 billion and will deepen the security ties between our two nations,” Starmer said.
The British government added that the programme would support 4,000 jobs across the UK, including over 2,000 in Scotland, where the frigates will be built.
The BAE Systems T-26 City-class design, already chosen by the Royal Navy, will be adapted for Norway’s requirements, creating efficiencies in training, maintenance, and deployment.
Defence analysts say the deal underscores the increasing importance of the High North in NATO’s strategic planning.
Control of the Greenland-Iceland-UK (GIUK) gap—through which Russian submarines must pass to reach the Atlantic—is seen as critical to maintaining the alliance’s security in a potential conflict. Joint British-Norwegian patrols, backed by U.S. air and naval assets, will significantly enhance NATO’s deterrence posture in the region.
Norway, a nation of 5.6 million people sharing a direct border with Russia, has sharply increased defence spending since Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022. The move also aligns with Washington’s pressure on NATO allies to shoulder more of the alliance’s collective defence burden.
The draft agreement with Britain includes guarantees of industrial cooperation for Norwegian firms equivalent to the full value of the acquisition, ensuring domestic economic benefits alongside strategic ones. Norway currently operates four frigates and has previously signalled plans to order five new ships, with the option of an additional vessel.
“This will be the biggest purchase to date. And we are now entering final contract negotiations,” Støre said. “With these frigates, Norway will strengthen both its own defence and NATO’s capacity to safeguard stability in northern Europe.”
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