LONDON — Defense Secretary Ash Carter on Thursday is making his first trip as secretary to Norway, which many don’t realize is a close defense partner to the United States in both industry and overseas missions.
Carter arrived in Norway on Thursday and will meet with Defense Minister Ine Eriksen Soreide. The two are likely to discuss Norway’s contribution to deterring Russian aggression in eastern Europe as well as its participation in the counter-Islamic State fight, and are expected to hold a joint press conference in Oslo on Friday.
“That’s a very important relationship if you haven’t tuned into it, a great, great closeness and also great value to the United States and I believe also to Norway,” Carter told press traveling on his plane for the trip.
During the visit, Carter will also view Norwegian military capabilities in Bodo, a coastal town about an hour-and-a-half flight north of the capital.
“We will go both to a facility, a base, a Norwegian base up on the Arctic Circle, which is important to both of us, and I’ll learn some more about our cooperation and about the Norwegian military and the direction that Defense Minister Soreide is taking the Norwegian military for the future in a very impressive way,” Carter said.
The relationship between the two countries encompasses partnerships on missions, as well as links between the allies’ defense industries.
Norway has been a partner in building Lockheed Martin’s F-35 since 2008 and has been training on two jets at Luke Air Force Base, Ariz., for almost a year. The government has already funded 22 of the planned 52 F-35s and the first joint strike fighters are expected to arrive in Norway next year.
Norway is also paying Lockheed Martin to develop a “missionized pod” for the rear of the plane that will allow Royal Norwegian Air Force jets to stop on short, ice runways.
The Norwegians are not just using U.S. technology; they have a hand in development of some F-35 components as well, including Kongsberg’s work on the joint strike missile.
The U.S. is also considering putting a naval strike missile built by Kongsberg on the littoral combat ship. Raytheon signed a deal with Kongsberg this year to build the missile and its launcher at U.S. plants — the missile in Tucson, Ariz., and the launcher in Louisville, Ky.
The winner of the contract is expected to be announced this year. Kongsberg’s naval strike missile is already being used on the Royal Norwegian Navy’s frigates and coastal corvettes.
Norway is an important partner for the United States in more than just industry. The president’s fiscal 2017 budget would also send an additional $25 million worth of prepositioned Marine Corps combat arms to Norway as part of the European Reassurance Initiative, designed to counter Russian aggression. Pentagon budget documents say the funding would send new equipment to Norway, improve cold-weather equipment and pay for a Marine Corps exercise to practice transporting and configuring the equipment.
Norwegian troops are also expected to contribute to one of the four NATO battalions announced this year that will be stationed in eastern Europe.
Norway is also a member of the Arctic Council, a group for which the United States is now chair. The council looks at several aspects of life in the Arctic, including partnerships between Arctic nations, environmental protection and the impact of increased shipping traffic on native populations. The chair of the council rotates every two years, and Norway is set to begin its second chairmanship in 2023.
