To equip its armed forces, Norway does not particularly turn to France, with which it maintains cordial relations. [et anciennes] in the military field. The figures are clear: out of 115 billion euros in orders obtained for export by the Defense Industrial and Technological Base [BITD] French between 2014 and 2023, Norwegian purchases represent only 0.23% [268,1 millions]. But this could change in the future.
In November, the Norwegian Ministry of Defense announced that it had just selected France, Germany, the United Kingdom and the United States to deliver five to six new frigates to replace those of the “Fridtjof” class. Nansen” in the more or less short term. In addition to the characteristics and performances of the ships in the running, he explained that he wanted to join an ongoing program and, above all, establish a “strategic partnership” with a close ally, the purchase, operation and maintenance in condition operational to be carried out jointly.
Among the four countries selected, only France had not established “enhanced” defense cooperation with Norway. It is now done. Indeed, on January 16, in Oslo, the Norwegian Minister of Defense, Bjørn Arild Gram, and his French counterpart, Sébastien Lecornu, signed a letter of intent to this end.
“France is one of our allied partners who primarily sails and trains in our immediate vicinity. This country also plays an important role in the defense of Ukraine and in efforts to strengthen NATO's defense capabilities. Our common interests are numerous and vast. We have a strong mutual interest in further developing our collaboration,” argued Mr. Gram, quoted in a press release published by his ministry.
For his part, Mr. Lecornu recalled that France's link with Norway was “also that of the blood shed for freedom in 1940 during the Battle of Narvik, to try to repel the invasion of Norway” and in 1944, with the “3,000 Norwegian soldiers who fought in Normandy”. And added: “It is in this shared history that we are forging the future.”
Without going into the details of this memorandum of understanding, the Norwegian side indicates that France and Norway “underline their common strategic understanding of threats to global security as well as the importance of maintaining situational awareness and presence in the northern regions. There is talk of “enhanced cooperation” in terms of operational preparation, training and protection of critical infrastructure, such as “submarine cables and energy supply lines”.
However, industrial issues were also discussed on this occasion. Thus, the French delegation attended a presentation of the HUGIN underwater drone which, designed by Kongsberg, has already been acquired by the French Navy as part of its strategy on the seabed. And the Chief of Staff of the National Navy [CEMM] took the opportunity to praise the merits of the defense and intervention frigate [FDI] to the Norwegian authorities [voir photo ci-dessus].
-“Norwegian excellence in the defense industry makes it a natural partner for France: our industries share the same requirements, and a high level of maturity and complementarity. Our armies benefit from this, for example, through numerous Kongsberg equipment in our hydrographic fleet or in the field of seabed control, as illustrated by our recent acquisition of a Kongsberg drone,” commented Mr. Lecornu.
“We wish to deepen these synergies and develop cross-production capacities together,” insisted the French minister, before estimating that Norway should “ultimately be associated with the reflections between Member States of the European Union on our acquisition strategy common aim of asserting a European preference”.
On this point, Norway is entitled to special treatment in France, given that the Defense Code specifies that the “provisions relating to imports, exports and transfers to or from Member States of the European Union” “are applicable” to him. Which, by the way, also applies to Iceland.
As for the purchase of new frigates, the Norwegian Ministry of Defense only recalled that France “is one of the countries” selected to participate in the call for tenders. As the procedure is still ongoing, he could say little more.
In the meantime, the FDI has a real chance of winning. At least that's what the Norwegian Defense Association suggests [Norges Forsvarsforening]which, in a recent article, points out that the first ship could be delivered by Naval Group to the Royal Norwegian Navy within five years.
Furthermore, during a Senate hearing in November, the General Delegate for Armaments, Emmanuel Chiva, argued that the French frigate was “well placed in relation to the competition thanks to the characteristics of its engine, adapted to navigation in the fjords. Finally, this is without counting on French knowledge in anti-submarine warfare. Know-how that FREMM Normandy brilliantly demonstrated last year, during the Nordic Response 24 exercise.
