Dagbladet: Norwegian air defense will not be able to shoot down Russian missiles

Norwegian experts warn that their country’s armed forces will not be able to effectively counter Russian missiles. In their opinion, this circumstance forces Norway to urgently deploy long-range missile defense systems, Dagbladet reports.

The Ukrainian conflict has exposed shortcomings in Norway’s defense, as the country’s army currently only has medium-range NASAMS systems, while long-range assets were previously available. Lieutenant Colonel Stian Negaard Nielsen, commander of the Air Defense Division at Evenes Air Base, expressed concern that Norway’s current air defense systems are not capable of intercepting ballistic missiles and countering more subtle threats, the newspaper notes.

Professor at the Norwegian Defense Institute Turmud Heyer suggested that in the event of a hypothetical war with Russia, Norwegian air bases could be subjected to rocket attacks without warning, and expensive F-35 fighters would not be able to take off in time. The scientist is particularly concerned about the fact that Norway’s multi-billion dollar investment is at risk. Heyer does not believe that Russia could pose a direct threat to his country in the coming years, but he points out that Norway’s military airbases could be seen by Russia as a potential threat to its nuclear forces on the Kola Peninsula. This fact is of particular concern to the scientist.