HARSTAD, Norway — An agreement with Norway that provides U.S. forces with access to a dozen Norwegian military facilities and areas remains in place, a Norwegian official said, with Washington moving ahead with investments to expand an airbase where F-35s are stored.
Officials from both governments signed the Supplementary Defense Cooperation Agreement in 2021, and it took effect the following year. Despite recent tensions between the Trump administration and European nations, the pact between the two countries remains alive and is thriving, Norwegian State Secretary Andreas Flåm told Defense News.
“Norway and the U.S. have enjoyed close defense cooperation for more than 75 years, both bilaterally and within NATO – the SDCA remains an important framework for further developing bilateral defense cooperation,” he said.
Under the agreement, U.S. forces and contractors have “unimpeded” access to a total of 12 agreed Norwegian areas, which involve key military sites such as the Evenes and Sola air stations as well as the Ramsund Naval Station.
The designated facilities are to be used in part for training, maneuvers, transits, refueling of aircraft, bunkering of vessels, contingency operations, landing and recovery of aircraft, and staging or deploying forces and materiel.
Another site included is the Rygge airport, where some of Norway’s F-35s are kept. In 2023, the Norwegian Ministry of Defense revealed that Washington was investing $188 million into the expansion of the air station to build four fighter hangars, and warehouses, increase capacity for ammunition storage and fenced parts around it with a patrol road.
Flåm says infrastructure plans are moving forward and expects the first contract to be announced this summer.
Earlier this month, Norway received three new F-35A aircraft, marking the delivery of 49 fighters, with the remaining three planned to be shipped before the summer time.
In recent weeks, defense experts and lawmakers have voiced concerns over the possibility that the U.S. could block allies from using or maintaining their F-35 fleets. These worries came about after President Trump appeared to be increasingly aligned with Russia and has repeatedly threatened to annex both Canada and Greenland.
Norwegian officials, for their part, are not fearing a freeze in relations.
“The F-35 is a vital component of our national defense capability, the cooperation and dialogue with the U.S. continue to support the development and use of this high-end platform – we expect this to continue into the future,” Flåm said.
Elisabeth Gosselin-Malo is a Europe correspondent for Defense News. She covers a wide range of topics related to military procurement and international security, and specializes in reporting on the aviation sector. She is based in Milan, Italy.
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