Danmarks Radio: USA allegedly spied on Norway

F-35Photo: Håkon Mosvold Larsen / NTB

The American intelligence service NSA is said to have spied on targets in Norway and Denmark, according to Danmarks Radio (DR).

Several different anonymous sources have told DR that the espionage took place in collaboration with the Danish intelligence service FE, according to Norwegian Broadcasting (NRK).

One anonymous source claimed that the NSA conducted targeted espionage against Denmark’s closest allies and previously also against Danish interests and goals.

Fighter aircraft purchase

In 2016, Norway bought 52 F-35 fighter jets from the USA at a price tag of close to NOK 70 billion. 

The background for the alleged US espionage is said to have been to obtain information about competing providers of fighter jets and the processes surrounding the purchase. 

The targets may have been the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Finance, and the Danish technology company Terma, according to NRK.

“Very serious if true”

“I would not be surprised if the United States spied on Norwegian targets, as we know they have done so against allied countries’ heads of government before,” Norwegian MP Freddy André Øvstegård (SV) told news bureau NTB.

“It is still very serious if it is true, especially since it seems to have happened in collaboration with the Danes and targeted the most expensive public procurement in Norway – the new fighter jets,” he added.

© NTB Scanpix / #Norway Today

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