France, Germany, UK, US make Norway’s billion-dollar frigate shortlist

PARIS — Norway has narrowed the choice of possible partner countries for its future frigate program to France, Germany, the U.K. and the U.S., and plans to start talks with those countries’ governments about setting up a strategic partnership.

The program to buy at least five and possibly six frigates will represent Norway’s biggest defense investment ever, surpassing the acquisition of F-35 fighter jets, Defence Minister Bjørn Arild Gram said in a briefing on Tuesday. The country plans to make a final decision on a future strategic partner in 2025.

Norway is looking to join an existing frigate program to speed up fielding, thereby obviating upgrade investments in the country’s existing Fridtjof Nansen-class frigates. All major naval forces within NATO are in the process of adding new frigates, and Norway said it wants to establish a strategic partnership with a close ally rather than just buy a stand-alone vessel type.

“The new frigates represent the largest acquisition planned for the Norwegian armed forces in the coming years,” Gram said.

The country plans to invest several hundred billion Norwegian kroner in its navy, as well as significantly increase operating budgets and personnel, according to Gram. One hundred billion kroner is equivalent to around US$9.1 billion.

Norway is an important maritime state within NATO, and the High North is the country’s most strategic area of interest, important to both Norway and the alliance, Gram said. The ambition is for the Royal Norwegian Navy to be able to operate continuously in the ocean areas off Norway, according to the minister.

Defense officials envision a strategic frigate partnership that includes joint acquisition, operation and maintenance, as well as continuous development and upgrades of the ships during their service life. Gram said the new vessels will require upgrade and support for several decades, and Norway is looking for a partner that will commit for the entire service life of the future frigates.

The country isn’t just considering the capabilities of each potential partner country, but also coinciding strategic interests, including in the High North, according to the minister.

France started sea trials of its first Defense and Intervention Frigate this year, with another four ships planned, while Germany laid the keel for the first of four F126 frigates. The U.S. is constructing its first Constellation-class frigate, based on the French-Italian FREMM multi-mission frigate, although that program has run into delays. Meanwhile, the U.K. has seven frigates under construction, including four Type 26 anti-submarine warfare vessels and three Type 31 frigates.

The four countries are working on significantly different-sized vessels, from France’s brand-new FDI frigate displacing 4,500 metric tons, to Germany’s F126 frigate that will displace around 10,000 tons. Norway’s current Fridtjof Nansen-class warships, built by Spain’s Navantia, displace around 5,200 tons fully loaded.

Norway has a longstanding maritime cooperation with France, and while the French have a more global focus than the Norwegians, they’ve shown increasing interest in the High North, the defense minister said. The U.K. and Norway also have particularly close security and defense ties, and the Royal Navy has long been a main partner for the Norwegian forces, according to Gram.

The Nordic country also has security ties with Germany, with cooperation traditionally mainly within the land domain, though the countries are cooperating on submarines and anti-ship missiles, Gram said. Meanwhile, the U.S. is Norway’s most important ally, cooperating in all domains with a focus on the North Atlantic, according to the minister.

A key consideration in the final decision will be the ability for Norwegian technology and industry to contribute to both development and sustainment of the future frigate, according to Gram.

The Norwegian government in 2023 reached out to 11 countries with frigate programs, which in addition to the four nations picked for further talks included Australia, Canada, Denmark, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and South Korea, according to Gram. The frigate program was included in the country’s long-term defense plan proposed in April.

Rudy Ruitenberg is a Europe correspondent for Defense News. He started his career at Bloomberg News and has experience reporting on technology, commodity markets and politics.

巴黎——挪威已将其未来护卫舰项目的潜在合作伙伴国家范围缩小至法国、德国、英国和美国，并计划与这些国家的政府展开谈判，以建立战略伙伴关系。

挪威国防部长比约恩·阿里尔德·格拉姆周二在新闻发布会上表示，挪威计划采购至少五艘，甚至可能六艘护卫舰，这将是挪威有史以来规模最大的国防投资，超过了此前采购F-35战斗机的规模。挪威计划在2025年最终决定未来的战略合作伙伴。

挪威正寻求加入现有的护卫舰项目，以加快舰艇部署，从而避免对其现有的弗里乔夫·南森级护卫舰进行升级改造。北约所有主要海军力量都在增建新型护卫舰，挪威表示，它希望与紧密盟友建立战略伙伴关系，而不是仅仅购买一种独立的舰艇类型。

格拉姆表示：“这些新型护卫舰是挪威武装部队未来几年计划的最大规模采购项目。”

据格拉姆透露，挪威计划向海军投资数千亿挪威克朗，并大幅增加海军运营预算和人员编制。1000亿挪威克朗约合91亿美元。

格拉姆表示，挪威是北约重要的海洋国家，而高北地区是挪威最具战略意义的利益区域，对挪威和北约都至关重要。这位部长还表示，挪威皇家海军的目标是能够在挪威近海海域持续开展行动。

国防官员设想建立一种战略护卫舰伙伴关系，其中包括联合采购、运营和维护，以及在舰艇服役期间的持续研发和升级。格拉姆表示，这些新舰艇需要数十年的升级和支持，挪威正在寻找一个能够承诺在未来护卫舰整个服役期内提供支持的合作伙伴。

据这位部长称，该国不仅考虑每个潜在伙伴国的能力，还考虑共同的战略利益，包括在北极地区的利益。

法国今年启动了其首艘防御与干预型护卫舰的海试，并计划建造另外四艘同型舰。与此同时，德国为四艘F126型护卫舰中的第一艘铺设了龙骨。美国正在建造其首艘星座级护卫舰，该舰以法意联合研制的FREMM多用途护卫舰为基础，但该项目目前已出现延误。此外，英国目前有七艘护卫舰正在建造中，其中包括四艘26型反潜舰和三艘31型护卫舰。

这四个国家正在建造的舰艇尺寸差异很大，从法国全新的排水量为4500吨的FDI级护卫舰，到排水量约为1万吨的德国F126级护卫舰。挪威目前由西班牙纳凡蒂亚造船厂建造的弗里乔夫·南森级战舰，满载排水量约为5200吨。

挪威与法国有着长期的海上合作，国防部长表示，虽然法国的关注点比挪威更偏向全球，但他们对北海地区的兴趣日益浓厚。格拉姆还指出，英国和挪威在安全和防务方面也保持着特别紧密的联系，英国皇家海军长期以来一直是挪威军队的主要合作伙伴。

格拉姆表示，这个北欧国家也与德国保持着安全联系，两国合作传统上主要集中在陆地领域，但也包括潜艇和反舰导弹领域的合作。与此同时，据这位部长称，美国是挪威最重要的盟友，双方在所有领域都有合作，尤其侧重于北大西洋地区。

格拉姆表示，最终决定的一个关键考虑因素是挪威的技术和工业能否为未来护卫舰的研发和维护做出贡献。

据格拉姆透露，挪威政府在2023年与11个拥有护卫舰项目的国家进行了接洽，除了最终选定的四个国家进行深入谈判外，还包括澳大利亚、加拿大、丹麦、意大利、荷兰、西班牙和韩国。护卫舰项目已被纳入挪威4月份提出的长期国防计划。

鲁迪·鲁伊滕贝格是《防务新闻》的欧洲记者。他的职业生涯始于彭博新闻社，拥有报道科技、大宗商品市场和政治方面的经验。