PARIS — Norway plans to nearly double its fleet of self-propelled artillery, proposing to buy an additional 24 K9 Thunder howitzers from Hanwha Aerospace for a budget of 5.65 billion Norwegian kroner, or $534 million.
The 155 mm howitzers will equip a new artillery battalion within the planned Finnmark brigade being set up to bolster Norway’s defenses in the high north, according to a government proposal published on Friday. The purchase plan is part of 17 billion kroner in proposed spending that also includes more sea mine-clearing capability, new military trucks and spending on facilities.
Norway already has 28 tracked K9 howitzers as well as 14 K10 ammunition resupply vehicles, and will exercise an option in its contract with Hanwha for the additional purchase, the government said. The spending plan still needs to be approved by the Norwegian parliament, the Storting.
“We are in a serious security policy situation,” Minister of Defence Tore Sandvik said. “Therefore, we will now ask the Storting to approve significant investments in various parts of the Armed Forces to strengthen Norway’s defense capability, in line with the ambitions of the long-term plan presented last year.”
The Norwegian government in October last year proposed to raise the country’s 2025 defense budget by 19.2 billion kroner to 110.1 billion kroner. The budget for the additional howitzers includes the guns as well as spare parts, according to the spending proposal.
The acquisition of additional artillery pieces “will contribute to significantly strengthening the Army’s firepower,” the government said.
The extra howitzers increase the total budget for the Norwegian 155 mm artillery project to 11.1 billion kroner, according to the government proposal. Other K9 operators in the Baltic region are Poland, Finland and Estonia.
The government also plans to spend an additional 3.9 billion kroner on maritime mine countermeasures, increasing the total budget for that project to 8.74 billion kroner. The plan for the Norwegian Navy’s future mine-clearing capability, first approved in 2023, will include unmanned and autonomous systems.
The previously approved mine countermeasures capability was assessed as too small in relation to the operational needs of a new security situation, according to the government. Expanding the scope of the project will ensure sufficient resources to safeguard “freedom of movement in Norwegian waters even in a crisis or war,” the government said.
“This will help to ensure that our own vessels and allies can sail safely and freely in Norwegian waters,” Sandvik said. “In addition, it can help to secure critical underwater infrastructure.”
Rudy Ruitenberg is a Europe correspondent for Defense News. He started his career at Bloomberg News and has experience reporting on technology, commodity markets and politics.
