COPENHAGEN (Reuters) -Norway has agreed with U.S. authorities to buy air defence missiles for more than 4 billion Norwegian crowns ($363 million), the Norwegian military said on Monday.
The contract agreed between the Norwegian and U.S. governments covers the AIM-120C-8 Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile (AMRAAM), made by RTX Corporation, a spokesperson for the Norwegian Defence Material Agency said.
“With more and newer missiles, the Norwegian Armed Forces will have a better ability to protect Norway against air attacks,” Norway’s Defence Minister Bjoern Arild Gram said in a statement.
The Nordic country, which is a member of the NATO military alliance and shares a border with Russia, has vowed to ramp up defence spending following Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
The missiles are primarily intended for Norway’s ground-based air defence system but can also be included in the weapons inventory of F-35A fighter aircraft, the Defence Material Agency said.
The purchase is among the largest single procurements of weapons ever made for the Norwegian Armed Forces, the agency said.
($1 = 11.0220 Norwegian crowns)
(Reporting by Louise Breusch Rasmussen; Editing by Terje Solsvik and David Holmes)
