Norway Goes on Arms Buying Spree Replacing NH90s With US-Made Military Helicopters

Over the past five years, European countries in the US-led NATO bloc have beefed up their arms imports by 65%, with Washington being the main provider. This contrasts with international arms transfers that dropped by 5.1% in the corresponding period.

Norway has announced it was buying six US-made Seahawk helicopters for over $1 billion to replace its European-made NH90s, which Oslo finally abandoned after a series of delays, setbacks and technical errors.

Annoyed by mounting difficulties, the Norwegian government last year canceled a contract for fourteen NH90s with the pan-European industrial consortium, NH Industries (NHI). The Norwegian military took NHI to task over troubles linked to reliability, maintenance and obsolescence, claiming they were reducing the number of flight hours of the NH90s.

The Norwegian Navy sought to employ six of the helicopters for anti-submarine missions, while the other eight were intended for surveillance and coast guard rescue objectives. Now, Norway is switching to six MH-60R Seahawks from Sikorsky, a US manufacturer. According to the Defense Ministry, the helicopters would be initially used by the Coast Guard, but they would also be equipped to counter submarines. The new rotorcraft are slated for delivery between 2025 and 2027. The lesser-than-initially-planned amount was justified by the extended use of drones.

Defense Minister Bjorn Arild Gram described the new purchase as "strengthening defense readiness, presence and vigilance in the north," where Norway shares a border with Russia. Previously, Norwegian officials made no secret that one of Oslo’s aims in the north is keeping an eye on Russia’s military activity and its submarines.

Norway, a founding member of NATO, has been an active participant in the US-led military alliance since its inception in 1949. In subsequent decades, it has dutifully provided training and assistance to the bloc while taking part in numerous overseas missions. More recently, Oslo signed defense agreements with the US and the UK, a further sign of its zeal as a NATO member. According to the deal, the US gained unimpeded access to four designated military areas across Norway, while the UK was allowed to establish an Arctic base which will host troops of its Littoral Response Group.

The procurement of US arms fits into a recent pattern seen throughout Europe. In the five years to 2022, European states have boosted their imports of major weaponry by 47%, while the US's share of global arms exports rose from 33% to 40%, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) noted. In particular, European states in the Washington-led NATO bloc stepped up their arms imports by 65% from the previous five-year period. Worldwide, however, international arms transfers fell by 5.1%, SIPRI pointed out. While the think-tank itself attributed the rush for arms to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, this is clearly just one of the contributing factors, as it only started in 2022 and covers just a fraction of the said timespan. In the years leading up to the conflict, however, numerous European nations have been trumpeting and echoing the "Russian threat" as a pretext for increased defense spending and arms procurements.