Foreword

Over the past three decades, defence industrial production capacity has been downscaled in Norway and in most other European countries due to reduced demand. In light of Russia’s war against Ukraine, it is essential to reverse the decline in Norwegian production capacity.

Access to air defence systems, missiles, artillery ammunition and other defence materiel will be crucial to support Ukraine’s efforts to defend its territory. If we are to continue and increase support for Ukraine, the producers of relevant defence-related products will have to expand their capacity. This will also help to strengthen national and Allied defence capabilities.

The Government has drawn up this roadmap to promote an integrated approach to the challenges associated with increasing production capacity. The measures set out in the roadmap are designed to address both short-term and long-term needs. The roadmap is to serve as a guide for the Government’s ongoing efforts to support the expansion of defence industrial production capacity.

It is the defence industry itself that has primary responsibility for expanding production capacity. Since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the Norwegian defence industry has made substantial investments in increasing its own production capacity. The central government administration’s most important means of supporting an expansion in production capacity is to enter into long-term, binding contracts with the industry. These contracts provide the companies with the predictability they need to invest in their own efforts to expand capacity.

The Long-term Defence Plan 2025–2036 is Norway’s most important tool for increasing Norwegian and Western production capacity. It provides a politically binding long-term framework for central government investments in defence materiel.

The measures needed to continue to support Ukraine and maintain national and Allied preparedness will not always be in line with commercial objectives. In some cases, the Government has provided support to the Norwegian defence industry to avoid bottlenecks in deliveries of defence materiel to Ukraine, and will continue to do so in the time ahead.

In consultation with industry, the Government has identified four main challenges that need to be addressed in order to increase production capacity in the Norwegian defence industry: access to capital, regulatory obstacles, potentially vulnerable value chains and long-term access to expertise.

As a response to the war in Ukraine, the Government has provided support for industry efforts to expand production capacity. This roadmap is intended to strengthen and enhance coordination of these efforts in the years ahead.

Bjørn Arild Gram

Minister of Defence

Cecilie Myrseth

Minister of Trade, Industry and Fisheries