The Russia-Ukraine war, which began in 2022, has challenged and subsequently changed security policies in Europe and for all NATO allies. The accession of Finland and Sweden to NATO offers a unique opportunity for a strengthened Nordic defense cooperation to uphold credible deterrence and defense.
The Nordic Defence Cooperation (NORDEFCO) originally was created in 2009, combining separate earlier cooperation initiatives under a single organizational umbrella to integrate Finland and Sweden, then non-NATO partners, in a Nordic security cooperation effort. On April 30, 2024, the defense ministers of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden signed the new Vision for the Nordic Defence Cooperation. Vision 2030 marks a new era for the development of Nordic defense cooperation, reflecting the reality of war in Europe and the accessions of Finland and Sweden to NATO. Denmark chaired NORDEFCO through 2024, a year that saw the forum change and expand rapidly.
With Vision 2030, defense ministers defined eight overall objectives:
- Strategic dialogue and consultations on current issues and the security situation, including cooperation on situational awareness and escalation management.
- Ability to conduct and command combined joint operations through common operations planning, complementary to national and allied planning.
- Host nation support and logistical support to enable common operations and facilitate allied military support and reinforcement.
- Military mobility to, between and through the Nordic countries by ensuring minimal restrictions of movement.
- Capabilities, based on strategic and operational requirements, in alignment with NATO processes, and opportunities in relation to European Union (EU) tools and initiatives.
- Defense materiel cooperation for increased interchangeability, including joint acquisitions, based on capability development and requirements, in alignment with NATO processes, NORDEFCO operational needs, and opportunities in relation to EU tools and initiatives.
- Military security of supply for improved resilience by strengthening the Nordic defense industrial base.
- Total defense to secure adequate support from all sectors of society to the defense sector in all threat scenarios and situations.
At the heart of the vision — and thereby the Nordic defense cooperation — are the aims of facilitating and enabling strategic dialogue, common situational awareness and escalation management, and creating the ability to conduct and command combined joint operations.
To that end, the Nordic chiefs of defense have agreed to a Nordic Defence Concept, which will coordinate and synchronize national defense planning across the Nordic region and ensure seamless transition to NATO plans. In accordance with the vision, cooperation is expanding into all aspects of defense planning, including operations, logistics and acquisitions, as well as societal resilience based on the Nordic model of total defense. In the area of sustainment, the Danish Acquisition and Logistics Agency has led an effort to enable joint production and procurement of ammunition among the NORDEFCO nations, and a strategic partnership agreement has been signed with Norwegian aerospace and defense company Nammo.
The Nordic Air Chiefs have already committed to integrating their forces with a joint declaration in 2023. The Nordic Air Forces will operate a combined fighter force of more than 250 aircraft and will be able to flow forces seamlessly across a joint operations area that covers the Nordic countries.
Symbolizing this new cooperation, the other Nordic countries joined the Swedish Air Force in their traditional Christmas tree formation for the holiday season in 2024.
As the Nordic countries work bilaterally to increase cooperation and integration, NATO is also changing to reflect the inclusion of Finland and Sweden, with the Nordic region transferring from Joint Force Command Brunssum in the Netherlands to Joint Force Command Norfolk in the United States.
All these changes reflect a strong commitment to reinvest and take responsibility for the security of the northern flank of the alliance on the part of the Nordic countries, which have all increased defense spending significantly in the face of an increasingly threatening security environment. Denmark will increase its defense budget by $7 billion over the next two years, bringing its defense spending to over 3% of gross domestic product (GDP), exceeding the NATO goal of at least 2% of GDP on defense spending. This is in addition to the already planned increase of $28 billion allocated over the next 10 years.
At the same time, the Nordic countries are among the staunchest supporters of Ukraine in its conflict with Russia, with Denmark supplying to Ukraine mostly military aid that exceeded 2% of GDP. Together, the Nordic countries have supplied over $18.7 billion in aid to Ukraine, only surpassed by the United States. The Nordic countries have supplied tanks, artillery, infantry fighting vehicles and even fighter jets, with Denmark leading the coalition to donate F-16 fighters to Ukraine.
Denmark turned over the chairmanship of NORDEFCO to Finland on January 1, 2025.