Norway made one of the largest defense purchases in its history, acquiring land-based long-range missiles and launchers worth nearly $2 billion. The missile system will be fully operational by 2031, the Norwegian Defence Ministry said in a January 2026 news release. “The Government’s priority is to rapidly strengthen Norway’s defense capability, and this acquisition will strengthen our ability to credibly deter potential adversaries. It is a boost to the combat power of the Army and makes our country safer, in line with the long-term plan that the entire Storting (Norwegian Parliament) has supported,” Minister of Defence Tore O. Sandvik said in the release.
The South Korean company Hanhwa will supply the missiles, launchers and support material for the system. The contract calls for the delivery of 16 launch systems and a larger number of missiles with three different ranges, including those with a range of up to 500 kilometers, the release stated. The Barents Observer, a Norwegian newspaper focusing on Arctic issues, reported that a new missile battalion is being formed in Bardufoss in the northern part of the country. Norway also will receive 16 mobile rocket launchers, increasing the ability of Norway’s armed forces to deploy the missiles around the country. “From Bardufoss, the missiles might have sufficient range to hit the Pechenga Valley, where two of Russia’s most potent land forces are based; the 71st Guards Motorised Rifle Division and the 61st Naval Infantry Brigade,” the newspaper reported.
Russia has a large military presence in the Kola Peninsula, bordering Norway to the east. In recent years, several sabotage incidents linked to Moscow have rattled Norwegians, and Moscow also has acted aggressively in Norway’s High North, including contesting Norwegian sovereignty over the Svalbard Peninsula. To counter the rising threat, Norway has increased defense spending repeatedly in the last several years, raising spending as a percentage of GDP from 2.3% to 3.4% since 2024. Oslo has increased the size of the Norwegian Army by a brigade and increased enrollment in the Home Guard, a rough equivalent of the National Guard in the United States.
The new missile system, Sandvik said, “is one of the largest investments ever made by the Army.” The system was recommended by the Norwegian Defence Material Administration and the Norwegian Armed Forces, the release stated.
The Chunmoo twin pod system allows a single vehicle to fire up to a dozen missiles and to reload within two minutes. The armored launching vehicle can carry and fire different kinds of missiles, the Barents Observer reported.
The newspaper reported that the Norwegian Armed Forces plans to name the system “Gungnir,” a reference to the Norse god Odin’s spear, which, according to Norse mythology, always hits its target.