The Armed Forces have strengthened their presence in the Northern regions over the past year, and Defense Secretary Haakon Bruun-Hanssen calls this a new normal .
The Defense chief presented the annual report for 2017 on Tuesday After many years of underfunding and cuts, the Armed Forces is now in an escalation plan up until 2020.
This is reflected in increased activity in the past year. The Chief of Defense also spoke of an increased degree of Norwegian sovereignty and presence in the High North.
“A higher level of military presence in the High North is now a new normality. The navy carried out 48 percent of its activity in the High North in 2017 and with a continuous presence of at least one submarine, Bruun-Hanssen said in his statement.
The army is now exercising more in Finnmark.
While there are delays in several areas, including the introduction of the NH90 helicopters, which are behind the plan by several years, the introduction of the new fighter plane F-35 is in line with the plans.
© NTB Scanpix / #Norway Today
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