Norway’s state of readiness is too poor and the country is not sufficiently prepared for an attack. Those are the conclusions of the Norwegian Armed Forces’ (Forsvaret) annual report for 2015.
According to broadcaster NRK, Chief of Defence Haakon Bruun-Hansen delivered a report to Defence Minister Ine Eriksen Søreide on Monday morning that shows that the military carries out fewer exercises than before and is thus not sufficiently prepared for an attack.
“Nato exercises and an increased presence in the Arctic have been at the expense of practice and training. The increased activity has been financed by reprioritization and that has put the whole apparatus under pressure,” Bruun-Hansen said at a Monday press conference.
Bruun-Hansen said that the Armed Forces are suffering from a backlog of maintenance, a lack of spare parts and increased costs.
“Demand for our capacities have increased over the past year. Today’s defence is not sustainable within the financial framework,” he said.
Military spokesman Eystein Kvarving said that Norway’s operations abroad have left it less prepared to react to a threat at home.
“The most important thing for the Norwegian Armed Forces is to have a new long-term plan that will enable us to meet the greatest challenges we may face, namely a military attack on Norway. It is a real problem that we haven’t been sufficiently well-prepared,” he told NRK.
