Norway to buy UK-made frigates to monitor Russian submarines

Norway said on Sunday it had chosen Britain as its strategic partner for the acquisition of new frigates in its biggest ever military investment, in a deal worth some £10 billion (US$13.51 billion) to boost the Nordic country’s maritime defence.

Germany, France, Britain and the United States had offered rival frigate designs in competition.

“The frigates are an essential part of our defence because they are key to defend our sovereignty,” Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere told a press conference.

Norway is Nato’s monitor for the vast 2 million sq km (772,000 sq miles) area of the North Atlantic used by the Russian northern fleet’s nuclear submarines.

A key mission for the frigates will be to monitor Russian submarines, whose base is on the Kola Peninsula, an area in the Arctic bordering Norway.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer welcomed the deal, which he said was worth £10 billion.