The armed forces will deploy new, long-range air defense missiles to protect large parts of Trøndelag, and Northern Norway.
Aircraft bases in Ørland and Evenes are the most natural places for deployment of the missiles, a position supported by parliament as part of long-term defense planning, said Defense chief, Haakon Bruun-Hanssen, to Adressa newspaper.
‘This isn’t a missile shield. It’s talked about as air protection for our bases, which are vital for all air operations. It will also protect bases within the same area that are important for receiving Allied support’, he told the newspaper.
The project is in the start-up phase, but the long-range rockets will be additional to today’s air defense system, Nasams. Nasams will be upgraded to include longer range missiles, to protect 52 new F-35 combat aircraft that will be deployed in
Ørland.
Norwegian Institute of International Affairs (NUPI) researcher, Ståle Ulriksen, who’s previously said the aircraft base would be a target for Russian missiles, is excited about the defense system.
‘The most challenging to the Russians will be a system that can shoot down their strategic missiles during the firing phase, en route to the United States. It is the Aegis air defense system, but only including long-range missiles, not the type already found on frigates’,he told Adressa newspaper.
Source: NTB scanpix / Norway Today
I ask if this project is at the disposal of the US leadership or is a purely Norwegian project not subject to NATO