Norway and France have signed the Narvik Agreement, a bilateral defence pact covering mutual military assistance, Arctic cooperation, defence industry ties and participation in French-led nuclear deterrence talks.
Norway has signed the CAVS Framework Agreement, allowing serial procurement of 6×6 armoured vehicles while Lithuania has decided to buy 936 vehicles at an estimated cost of €1.5 billion.
Norway has instructed hospitals and municipalities to update health emergency preparedness plans for war and crisis situations. Authorities have been asked to prepare for making 7,000 beds available for military and civilian casualties and strengthen blood preparedness measures.
Norway and Ukraine have signed an agreement to begin joint production of Ukrainian drones in Norway under the “Build with Ukraine” initiative. The deal includes industrial cooperation, research, and supply chain development, with deliveries expected before summer.
Norway and Ukraine have agreed to expand defence cooperation with a focus on drone production, including enabling Ukrainian drones to be built in Norway. The deal also covers joint development, technology sharing, and scaling up air defence and military production.
The UK has disclosed details of a Russian submarine operation near critical undersea infrastructure, with British and allied forces tracking vessels in the High North and surrounding waters amid increased Russian naval activity.
Germany has sent a small military team to Greenland as European countries step up support for Denmark amid US pressure over the Arctic territory. The deployment is part of wider joint exercises aimed at improving security cooperation and strengthening NATO’s presence in the region.
Germany approved €8.4 billion in arms export licences in 2025, marking a clear drop after two record years. Government data show a sharp fall in approvals for Ukraine, while Norway became the largest recipient and licences for Turkey rose to their highest level since 1999.
The UK and Norway have agreed to operate a combined fleet of Type 26 frigates and deepen defence cooperation to counter rising Russian submarine activity and protect critical infrastructure in the North Atlantic.
Franco-German manufacturer KNDS has secured 350 orders from five countries for the newest Leopard 2A8 main battle tank, with Germany alone committing to 123 units and planning to expand its purchase. The upgraded A8 variant features enhanced protection systems and represents several billion euros in confirmed contracts, with production expected to run for years.
Germany has presented the Leopard 2A8 and Panzerhaubitze 2000 A4 in Munich, with Defence Minister Boris Pistorius outlining the Bundeswehr’s plans for new armoured systems, production requirements and cooperation with European partners. The Bundeswehr has ordered 123 new Leopard 2A8 tanks.
The Ukraine war and expanding global conflict showered a windfall on German arms companies like Rheinmetall and TKMS, with some startups like Helsing becoming the upstarts of the weapons industry, and other legacy companies like Heckler & Koch even experiencing a dramatic reversal of fortunes.
The €150 billion SAFE fund will come into force on May 29, offering loans to EU states for defence procurement, that will require 65 percent of all purchases to be of European origin, with contractors required to fully control design to avoid new dependencies.
As NATO races to supply Ukraine before Trump takes office, Europe is struggling to touch two percent of its GDP on defence expenditure while Russia plans to spend more than 32 percent of its national budget on its military.
The strategy paper that is said to be an evolving, ‘living document,’ includes ‘detailed plans’ for eventualities that range from defending Germany to deterring Russian manoeuvres on NATO’s eastern flank and anticipates that Germany might have to become a ‘hub for tens or hundreds of thousands of troops’ that have to be transported east, besides logistics for war materiel.
