Norway in August 2026 expanded a recently created military brigade headquartered in the Arctic, the latest move by a NATO nation to boost its defense footprint in the wake of the invasion of Ukraine. The NATO member established the Finnmark Brigade last year, forming the country’s second brigade and the first one set up since the end of the Cold War. Both brigades have their headquarters in the Arctic.
Norway, like the other Nordic countries, has steeply increased its military budget in response to the war in Ukraine. The Nordic country now is in the top ranks of NATO defense spending when measured as a proportion of a country’s GDP, spending an estimated 3.17% this year on defense, up from 1.5% in 2014, according to NATO figures.
One of the Finnmark Brigade’s main duties until now was to surveil and patrol the 198-kilometer border Norway shares with Russia. It is being expanded to include an artillery battalion, air defense battery and communications company that will enable it to carry out certain actions, such as firing at targets on land some 40 kilometers away or coordinating firing with planes and ships from both Norwegian and NATO forces.
“This is a completely different level of firepower than what has been used before,” the head of the brigade, Brig. John Olav Fuglem, told Reuters from Porsangmoen, where the brigade is headquartered.
Porsangmoen lies some 180 kilometers from Norway’s border with Russia. The Russian region on the other side is a major military hosting area, including for Russia’s Northern Fleet. “We will answer every threat and attack on Norway and NATO. We will defend every centimeter,” Defence Minister Tore Sandvik said in the same phone interview with Reuters.