Norway entered the year of “total defense”: “For decades we had the luxury of devoting our resources to others”

War is now a possibility, says even the prime minister of a country neighboring Russia, according to AFP, who emphasizes that Norway is moving to “total defense”, preparing its population for the worst scenario.

In his New Year's address, Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre warned his fellow citizens that “war may return to Norway”.

The year 2026 has been declared the year of “total defense”, a concept aimed at preparing all the links of society – army, administrations, enterprises… – for a major crisis or war.

Shelters are sufficient for half the population

Dug under a quiet park, the air raid shelter in St. Hanshaugen, one of Oslo's largest, will hold 1,100 people behind its heavy metal doors if that day comes.

The air is cold, the light dim, the toilets rudimentary: the shelter is nothing like a three-star hotel, but it is designed to protect against possible bombings and NRBC (nuclear, radiological, biological or chemical) threats.

“Today, we have about 18,600 shelters, enough to cover almost 50% of the population” of the country (5.6 million inhabitants), Øistein Knudsen, head of the Norwegian Civil Defense, explained to France Press.

“Many of them need to be modernized: they were built during the Cold War, they are damp, old…” he added.

Ukrainians tell them how to protect the population from drones

A member of NATO, the Scandinavian kingdom wants to reinstate the obligation to equip new large buildings with air-raid shelters, a requirement that had been removed in 1998, a “peace benefit” brought on by the breakup of the USSR.

The idea is not to build expensive shelters, but to provide minimal protection against threats like drones, now ubiquitous on battlefields.

“My Ukrainian colleagues are waging an existential war on their own territory, and yet they still find time to share their experiences,” points out Øistein Knudsen.

“Just listening to them tell what they're going through, the attacks on the civilian population, what it's like to act as a civil defense force in wartime, those experiences are priceless,” he added.

The construction of shelters is one of the 100 proposals made last year by the authorities in a White Paper.

“For decades we have had the luxury of devoting our resources to others”

The government also wants to increase the strength of the Civil Defense by 50% to 12,000 men and women, force all communes to have a “local training council” or increase the rate of food self-sufficiency to 50% by 2030.

Households are also encouraged to stockpile enough supplies for seven days.

“For many decades in Norway we have had the luxury of devoting our resources to others,” says Kristine Kallset, State Secretary at the Ministry of Justice and Public Security.

“But since the security situation has deteriorated, we understand that there are a number of measures to be taken to ensure that our preparation includes war in the most pessimistic scenario,” she stressed.

“On the right track in terms of preparations, but…”

“Today's threat landscape, whether it's the climate crisis, great power rivalry, the war in Ukraine, the Middle East or pandemics, is much more interdisciplinary than it was 20 years ago,” says Jarle Løwe Sørensen, a crisis management specialist at the University of Southern Norway.

“We are on the right track in terms of preparations (…) but there are bureaucratic, legal and organizational mechanisms that often hinder the smooth functioning of the system and do not allow everything to fit together in a truly optimal way,” he states.

The areas of responsibility of the police, firefighters, health services or even the National Guard do not always coincide.

“I have a radio, water, everything the authorities recommend”

On the streets of Oslo, awareness is different. “I don't think about it in everyday life, but I have my little emergency kit,” admits Øystein Ringen Vatnedalen, a 51-year-old entrepreneur.

“I put some cash aside, I thought about a few scenarios – where I would go, who I would take care of – and I have a radio, water, everything the authorities recommend”

Käthe Hermstad, a 48-year-old sustainable development consultant, made no special preparations. “The most important thing is to have a network and a community around you” to help each other.

According to a Civil Defense study, 37 percent of Norwegians say they have strengthened their preparations over the past year, but only 21 percent fear a war on national soil within the next five years.

$167 billion for defense over a decade

In March, Norway announced it would increase defense spending by another 115 billion kroner ($12 billion) by 2036. This is on top of a previously announced plan to spend 1.62 trillion kroner ($167 billion) on defense between 2025 and 2036, according to Reuters.

Norway, like other NATO members, is increasing its defense spending as a result of the war and under pressure from US President Donald Trump.

The extra spending will bring Norway up to its NATO commitment of 3.5 percent of GDP in 2035, the government said.

He doesn't need to smoke

“We are allocating a significant increase in resources to the long-term plan, while carefully assessing the priorities needed to rapidly strengthen Norway's defense capabilities,” Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere said at a press conference in March.

Norway is responsible for monitoring the vast 2 million km² area of ​​the North Atlantic used by the nuclear submarines of the Russian Northern Fleet.

It is the only country in Europe that does not need to borrow money to finance increased defense spending, thanks to its $2 trillion sovereign wealth fund, the largest in the world.

Total consensus on the political stage for the defense plan

It is also one of the few countries where there was general consensus when the long-term defense plan was first presented, with all parties in parliament backing it in 2024.

Oslo has committed to buying six submarines from the German company TKMS and at least five frigates from the British company BAE Systems, as well as long-range missiles and artillery systems from the South Korean company Hanwha Aerospace.

The first of the six submarines will be delivered in 2029, while the first two frigates are expected to arrive in 2030 and 2032, respectively.

Norway will also prioritize short-range air defense and drone defense following lessons learned in the Ukraine war.