Secretary General of NATO defends the F-35 plan
Secretary General of NATO, Jens Stoltenberg, comes with an indirect warning to Norway to cut the number of F-35 aircraft.
Stoltenberg now confirms that he will participate when Norway Friday will mark that the first combat aircraft have arrived at Ørlandet.
He defends the decision to buy the aircraft, which was taken while he himself was Prime Minister of Norway.
– It was a big decision, but I’m sure it was a right decision for both Norway and NATO. It strengthens both Norway’s and NATO’s presence in the north, it helps strengthen our collective defense, and it helps strengthen NATO’s ability to deal with crisis situations outside NATO areas, Stoltenberg tells the Norwegian press in Brussels.
Norway’s plan is to buy up to 52 aircraft. SV has spoken up for acquiring fewer combat aircraft to save a few billions, while The Liberals wants to move some of the investment to a future point in time.
They have no support from Stoltenberg.
– I’ll be careful about joining in an internal Norwegian debate. But it must be allowed for the Secretary-General of NATO to say that you are very pleased that Norway intends to buy more than 50 aircraft. It is a good thing; something we welcome, says Stoltenberg.
– F-35 is a modern aircraft. It is the best in the world when it comes to dealing with very demanding missions where we have opponents who also possess advanced weapon systems, he says.
© NTB Scanpix / Norway Today
