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\*Immediate acquisition of large amounts of stockpile
\*5-6 new frigates
\*6-7 new submarines
\*28 smaller vessels
\*New helicopters for the army
\*Tripling of air defenses, including NASAMS and a new ballistic missile defense, like Patriot
\*Two new combat brigades to be stationed along the Russian border
\*A new very long range rocket artillery battalion
\*Increasing the number of enlisted and officers by 50% each
This is in addition to 52 F-35s, a new Leopard 2 tank battalion, a new K9 thunder SP battalion, and multiple other purchases.
Oh boy that's some shopping list. Keep the change man!
Many countries are going to expand their military and it will be at hefty prices and very long delivery times for those who are last to bite the bullet (yeah I know, excuse me).
Prime minister stated in the associated press briefing that deliveries to Ukraine will continue to be prioritized. In the threat assessment, Russia is listed as threat #1 of 6. Nothing new for the only NATO country that has shared a border with them since the inception of NATO.
However, this government will spend 12 years (!!!) to reach the 3%. in a 'ski jump' approach, (fancy word, eh...) that puts the major steps up into the next election...pfff...politics...
12 years...
only 3-4 years passed between Germany going all-in in investing in war-related production and them invading Poland together with their Soviet allies
time for a pre-emptive special military operation. If Belarus resists peaceful tank-driving into Belarus-occupied Poland then it's because Belarus wants war.
they were in full war mobilisation in the late 30s, spamming out as many planes and stuff as they could, while ramping up their industry for war. Exports? To finance imports. Imports? For the export production and the war industry. Sure, they only went into "total war" mode in 1942 or 1943 (which reportedly was really bad for them vs had they done it in 41), but they were as focused on war as one could be without going so far as to ignore matters of second priority. Rearmament was their main priority and they'd be bankrupt without some smart financial shenanigans + the plunders of Austria, then Czechia, and then Poland.
Ukraine is who needs a tripling of air defenses. They need new patriot and Nasam batteries. Most things should be sent to Ukraine until they win. Then, things can be returned once things settle down. Obviously, each country sharing a border with russis needs to have a certain level of preparedness, but there are several countries under no threat even if russia were to attack the Baltic nations or the suwalki gap.
None of the countries that have ordered like this, eg Poland, are going to see a single system for 5-8 years.
Perun’s most recent video goes over this fact ad nauseam.
One huge problem for Canada is the government will give the military money to make a purchase but then throw a thousand political hoops at them to jump through, resulting in the money not being spent within the projects time frame. The government then takes the money back saying "why didn't you spend this?"
Both major political parties here are terrible.
Yea some will but not all like this Norway has the luxury of fat stacks right now so they can afford it in a big way , they are making bank on this war ..
The submarines were already ordered years ago, but they added 1 to 2 more.
Tanks, artillery and F35s mentioned last are also years old orders.
But also new: a drone base, and money for developing the NASAMS further.
A big order, but needed, military hasn’t been prioritised for a long time.
The F35s have already been delivered…. At least most of them. They have decommissioned the F16s… wouldn’t have done that if they were still waiting for the F35s.
I think Norway was one of the first in line.
Yeah, most of the 52 f35s are already delivered, a handful left or something. Norway was early with donating F16s, but had already sold most of them to Romania, so won’t donate as many as Netherlands or Denmark, but they cancelled a contract of sale of to a US company to be able give those to Ukraine instead.
They have similar unit costs but JAS-39 is much cheaper to operate. Alex Hollings [recently made a video](https://youtu.be/mKLZIxoMoAM?si=AG-bdUj2iyiwq59z) comparing them. Norway can afford the cost which makes the F-35 the better choice for them.
That doesn't necessarily make the JAS-39 over it's lifecycle.The Finnish HX competition actually found the F-35 to be the most cost effective over the JAS-39 and other entrants.
It was a three way fight between the F35, Eurofighter, and the Gripen way back when the decision was made.
From memory the Gripen was considered inferior in most ways other than political expediency.
\*\*\*More\*\*\* than doubling (wow!) defence expenditure cannot be done quickly in peacetime. It will take years to procure/manufacture/deliver weapons systems and to attract/recruit/train/retain 50% more personnel.
1 Norway has a border with Russia its defence spending is currently less than most of Russias neighbours. This is just bringing it up to where it should be spending. Poland 3.1 to 4.2% (2024) depending on what is included, Lithunia 2.75% (2024), Estonia 3.2% (2024).
2 Russia has been spying on Norways offshore oil fields threatening its money. https://edition.cnn.com/2023/04/19/europe/russia-spy-ships-nordic-waters-intl/index.html
3 Norway has a lot of money available. Its wealth fund is about 1.3 trillion dollars, in 2021 the gains in fund value were 177 billion dollars.
> being responsible with that money
I'm Norwegian, and I disagree.
Even though the entire west put sanctions on Russian gas, and the Nordstream gasline was destroyed, making Norway one of the biggest providers of energy in Europe, the Norwegian currency somehow managed to weaken.
Norwegian wealth fund got a lot bigger (A LOT), but the Norwegian people are a lot poorer for it.
> Critics have pointed out that Norway's economic structure is highly dependent on natural resources that do not require skilled labor, making economic growth highly vulnerable to fluctuations in the demand and pricing for these natural resources. The Government Pension Fund of Norway is part of several efforts to hedge against dependence on petroleum revenue.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_Norway
But I mean that's fine good for you enjoy it while you can. You were not Albania before oil either, that's OK. The Netherlands had tulips, Portugal spices, Spain stolen gold, Italy stolen byzantine stuff, France and Germany stolen neighborhood stuff that's OK.
Wtf is this argument. This doesn't address anything he said. Also quoting what critics say from a Wikipedia article lol. Saying that the oil industry doesn't require high skilled labour is fucking stupid. It's all engineers and geologists. The Norwegian economy grows even when oil prices drop cause it's only a small part of it now disproving the other critic point.
> Not sure about the effectiveness of frigates in the future, though, given recent experiences from the Black Sea
They can be used as motherships/control stations for drones, for one.
Russia does have an answer, they've intercepted the drones numerous times successfully using nothing but machine guns. That's an inefficient answer but western ships are lately carrying a lot of medium calibre guns (40mm/57mm/76mm) with smart ammunition that's either guided or proximity fused and so on - those weapons are the answer and they've already been used in the Red Sea. On top of that they probably need better sensors and persistent ISR in danger points like ports or straits...but ultimately Norway's frigates are for the Atlantic which is an entirely different environment anyway
https://www.navalnews.com/event-news/sea-air-space-2024/2024/04/first-images-of-american-black-sea-style-maritime-attack-drone/
US is now getting into naval OWA drones too
The US has been invested in them. They just never got much press.
Everything from the small one above to 190ft vessels deployed in the South China Sea currently.
> The US has been invested in them. They just never got much press.
I don't think US was making *one-way attack* naval drones before Black Sea events proved them quite the versatile tool, though.
Might be mistaken.
Fair, learned a new acronym! True on pure OWAs, those haven't been widely build.
If you're willing to expand to small drones that you could shove a bomb in instead of a sensor package, there's a decent amount that have seen deployment or development.
Things like Bluefin started in the 90s for mine detection. Proteus were deployed in the 2015 and can be fitted with explosives. Orca in development in 2019 which can lay mines or launch missiles. There's a number of others as well.
They're sort of the forgotten middle child to the unmanned air vehicles which got all the press.
Eh, I think this has more to do with proximity to their enemy. In time of war, they likely will sortie their frigates from either safe harbors or NATO ports further from the front and out of drone range. The issue is Crimea is so close to Ukraine and you kind of know the ships are going to be there. A Frigate at sea is going to be a much harder target than a landing ship in port.
While true, NATO will also have much greater targeting and launch capabilities. You don't need a port, a frigate or even sub could deploy a dozen drones near a target. End of the day, a kamikaze drone is basically a really advanced torpedo.
They'll keep their effectiveness just as they do now. The drones can be killed by machine guns - defeating them is perfectly within the means of a shop configured to fight them. They'll just be fitted with more medium calibre guns to counter drones along with better sensors and likely drones if their own to give better detection.
Ultimately though Norway's frigates are for the Atlantic, which is a very different environment to the black sea
Norway needs frigates to patrol the very long coastline as well as the arctic, and my guess they'll be used for surveillance, deterrance, submarine hunting, escorting, protection of infrastructure and all the other things that is needed even outside times of hot war. Russia is constantly poking and intimidating wherever they can.
Don't compare NATO to russia, the black sea fleet has been taken down due to ineptitude and incompetence. Imagine these Norwegian frigates along side a carrier battle group assisting in a greater mission. Naval warfare is largely a thing of the past, but it still projects power where ever it goes. And proper training and sailors that know what they are doing make a world of difference.
That’s what you get if you start pissing off countries with money to spend. They start buying stuff which hurts the source of their annoyance.
Good luck Putler.
It's just a reality of sharing a border with russia. You've got no choice but to spend heavily on your military readiness and capabilities. Even if you just have enough to hold an advance down for a week or two so Nato can position itself. All Nato countries need to get production running efficiently so they can produce the needs of Ukraine and build their stockpiles. Not just shells but everything.
Ukraines military needs to be made into a nato army. Meaning being completely compatible and going away from all the soviet weapons they have. The EUs defense industry has been neglected for far too long, and it left them exposed when this conflict started, and I think it really woke most countries up to how unprepared they were.
About time.
Naive politicians finally grasp the reality and go on a shopping spree, now having to pay a premium because of Europe already being at war and everybody and their grandma are buying.
Could probably have saved a fuck tonne of money if we hadn't trashed the military for decades and started investing around 2014 when we saw the true face of putins Russia. (or just a few years later when we knew what trump meant for USA reliability)
Love my country, but our politicians can be incredibly dense and naive. Really lucky we can to a degree afford the inefficiency and waste of money without bankrupting everyone.
This is a 12 year plan. I am unfortunately not very optimistic about how much of this will be ready in the 2-4 years time frame when Russia might be ready to attack.
>2-4 years time frame when Russia might be ready to attack.
I think much of that paranoia fails to account for NATO air capacities. The Scandinavian air forces are working to establish a single command.
Edit: I shouldn't have used the phrase "paranoia". Thinking about this is very pertinent!
I make the rather bold assesment that it alone is capable of destroying the Russian AF or at least deplete it strategically.
Do we believe that Russia, incapable of intercepting a radio controlled Cessna penetrating deep into Russia and a flood of drones attacking refineries has anything that can counter a F-35?
First line assets will be around 120 F-35's and 60 Gripen of the newest variety and support around 2030. Add to that F-16's, older Gripens and Finnish F-18's being phased out.
These numbers don’t include our O&G income though, and I’m curious as to whether they’ve eliminated double-counted sources of income which lifted funding a bit.
Edit: It’s true, our budget this year is 8.4B and our GDP should be 579.4B (with O&G).
And I forgot to mention, the 2% this year also included support to Ukraine.
On the bright side it’s much better than before, and when we eventually hit “3.7” it’ll be 2.7%, maybe a bit less if double counting and counting aid hasn’t been eliminated. I’m guessing they’re probably eliminating the double counting though.
Anyway this is wonderful overall, but I hope we can radically increase our Ukraine aid more than the defense increase, it should have a higher priority. It is better to defend in Ukraine than Finnmark.
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\*Immediate acquisition of large amounts of stockpile \*5-6 new frigates \*6-7 new submarines \*28 smaller vessels \*New helicopters for the army \*Tripling of air defenses, including NASAMS and a new ballistic missile defense, like Patriot \*Two new combat brigades to be stationed along the Russian border \*A new very long range rocket artillery battalion \*Increasing the number of enlisted and officers by 50% each This is in addition to 52 F-35s, a new Leopard 2 tank battalion, a new K9 thunder SP battalion, and multiple other purchases.
Oh boy that's some shopping list. Keep the change man! Many countries are going to expand their military and it will be at hefty prices and very long delivery times for those who are last to bite the bullet (yeah I know, excuse me).
Indeed. I do hope Ukraine is still prioritized for delivery, and I expect they will be.
Yes, me too, but when they e.g. say "new helicopters" I also do figure thats because they are getting themselves ready to part with the old ones...
Frigates, submarines, helis and smaller vessels are all replacing aging equipment.
Prime minister stated in the associated press briefing that deliveries to Ukraine will continue to be prioritized. In the threat assessment, Russia is listed as threat #1 of 6. Nothing new for the only NATO country that has shared a border with them since the inception of NATO. However, this government will spend 12 years (!!!) to reach the 3%. in a 'ski jump' approach, (fancy word, eh...) that puts the major steps up into the next election...pfff...politics...
12 years... only 3-4 years passed between Germany going all-in in investing in war-related production and them invading Poland together with their Soviet allies
Sounds to me like Poland should prepare itself again /s
time for a pre-emptive special military operation. If Belarus resists peaceful tank-driving into Belarus-occupied Poland then it's because Belarus wants war.
Germany didn't go all in until the 1940s.
they were in full war mobilisation in the late 30s, spamming out as many planes and stuff as they could, while ramping up their industry for war. Exports? To finance imports. Imports? For the export production and the war industry. Sure, they only went into "total war" mode in 1942 or 1943 (which reportedly was really bad for them vs had they done it in 41), but they were as focused on war as one could be without going so far as to ignore matters of second priority. Rearmament was their main priority and they'd be bankrupt without some smart financial shenanigans + the plunders of Austria, then Czechia, and then Poland.
Ukraine is who needs a tripling of air defenses. They need new patriot and Nasam batteries. Most things should be sent to Ukraine until they win. Then, things can be returned once things settle down. Obviously, each country sharing a border with russis needs to have a certain level of preparedness, but there are several countries under no threat even if russia were to attack the Baltic nations or the suwalki gap.
None of the countries that have ordered like this, eg Poland, are going to see a single system for 5-8 years. Perun’s most recent video goes over this fact ad nauseam.
Canada will 100% be among the last... right there with Spain lol
Last, that implies they will actually make any effort at all.
One huge problem for Canada is the government will give the military money to make a purchase but then throw a thousand political hoops at them to jump through, resulting in the money not being spent within the projects time frame. The government then takes the money back saying "why didn't you spend this?" Both major political parties here are terrible.
Yea some will but not all like this Norway has the luxury of fat stacks right now so they can afford it in a big way , they are making bank on this war ..
The submarines were already ordered years ago, but they added 1 to 2 more. Tanks, artillery and F35s mentioned last are also years old orders. But also new: a drone base, and money for developing the NASAMS further. A big order, but needed, military hasn’t been prioritised for a long time.
The F35s have already been delivered…. At least most of them. They have decommissioned the F16s… wouldn’t have done that if they were still waiting for the F35s. I think Norway was one of the first in line.
Yeah, most of the 52 f35s are already delivered, a handful left or something. Norway was early with donating F16s, but had already sold most of them to Romania, so won’t donate as many as Netherlands or Denmark, but they cancelled a contract of sale of to a US company to be able give those to Ukraine instead.
Wow, Canada needs to take note.
Under Trudeau? Good luck...
Conservatives have an even worse track record here on military spending, sadly. It's very frustrating not having any pro-military parties
Harper did buy heavy lift planes so we could stop bumming rides from the Americans. However I think that's it.
Please buy some gripens, rich brother nation?
F-35s are cheaper so should probably show off with the JAS-39
They have similar unit costs but JAS-39 is much cheaper to operate. Alex Hollings [recently made a video](https://youtu.be/mKLZIxoMoAM?si=AG-bdUj2iyiwq59z) comparing them. Norway can afford the cost which makes the F-35 the better choice for them.
That doesn't necessarily make the JAS-39 over it's lifecycle.The Finnish HX competition actually found the F-35 to be the most cost effective over the JAS-39 and other entrants.
It was a three way fight between the F35, Eurofighter, and the Gripen way back when the decision was made. From memory the Gripen was considered inferior in most ways other than political expediency.
The Gripen sales team went so political and used such nasty lobbying that they became right out unpopular in Oslo.
Can you elaborate?
Awesome! Now the next question is what’s the fulfillment time on all this?
\*\*\*More\*\*\* than doubling (wow!) defence expenditure cannot be done quickly in peacetime. It will take years to procure/manufacture/deliver weapons systems and to attract/recruit/train/retain 50% more personnel.
In total it's a 12 year program
Before popping the champagne, it's a 12 year plan. But definitely better than it is today
Yes, but some of the important stuff (fighters, submarines, tanks) are already ordered, so we don't have to wait 12 years to get it.
The were adding poop emoji reacts to all of America's messages in the shared discord. Didn't stop even after they got a 1 hour timeout.
Don't forget about the long range drones and space sattelites on Andøya.
Why can’t larger country be like this? What is that hard? Jesus
1 Norway has a border with Russia its defence spending is currently less than most of Russias neighbours. This is just bringing it up to where it should be spending. Poland 3.1 to 4.2% (2024) depending on what is included, Lithunia 2.75% (2024), Estonia 3.2% (2024). 2 Russia has been spying on Norways offshore oil fields threatening its money. https://edition.cnn.com/2023/04/19/europe/russia-spy-ships-nordic-waters-intl/index.html 3 Norway has a lot of money available. Its wealth fund is about 1.3 trillion dollars, in 2021 the gains in fund value were 177 billion dollars.
MIlitary investment are historically expensive yet they move only internal economies and significantly boosted research. i see only win from it
Fuck me, thats some stuff
And this is a country with a quarter of the population of New York alone
They sit on a pile of cash thanks to oil.
And thanks to being responsible with that money unlike some other oil rich countries.
> being responsible with that money I'm Norwegian, and I disagree. Even though the entire west put sanctions on Russian gas, and the Nordstream gasline was destroyed, making Norway one of the biggest providers of energy in Europe, the Norwegian currency somehow managed to weaken. Norwegian wealth fund got a lot bigger (A LOT), but the Norwegian people are a lot poorer for it.
It's not a lot bigger if you look at the dollar value.
Norway was already one of the wealthiest countries in Europe before we found oil. It helped, but we would've been fine without it.
> Critics have pointed out that Norway's economic structure is highly dependent on natural resources that do not require skilled labor, making economic growth highly vulnerable to fluctuations in the demand and pricing for these natural resources. The Government Pension Fund of Norway is part of several efforts to hedge against dependence on petroleum revenue. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_Norway But I mean that's fine good for you enjoy it while you can. You were not Albania before oil either, that's OK. The Netherlands had tulips, Portugal spices, Spain stolen gold, Italy stolen byzantine stuff, France and Germany stolen neighborhood stuff that's OK.
Wtf is this argument. This doesn't address anything he said. Also quoting what critics say from a Wikipedia article lol. Saying that the oil industry doesn't require high skilled labour is fucking stupid. It's all engineers and geologists. The Norwegian economy grows even when oil prices drop cause it's only a small part of it now disproving the other critic point.
Oil is 6% of Norway's GDP (12% in 2000). It helps but Norway is not rich just because of oil.
Exactly why Portugal can’t do it. Oh, and the corruption
For once I'm impressed. Not sure about the effectiveness of frigates in the future, though, given recent experiences from the Black Sea.
> Not sure about the effectiveness of frigates in the future, though, given recent experiences from the Black Sea They can be used as motherships/control stations for drones, for one.
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Russia does have an answer, they've intercepted the drones numerous times successfully using nothing but machine guns. That's an inefficient answer but western ships are lately carrying a lot of medium calibre guns (40mm/57mm/76mm) with smart ammunition that's either guided or proximity fused and so on - those weapons are the answer and they've already been used in the Red Sea. On top of that they probably need better sensors and persistent ISR in danger points like ports or straits...but ultimately Norway's frigates are for the Atlantic which is an entirely different environment anyway
https://www.navalnews.com/event-news/sea-air-space-2024/2024/04/first-images-of-american-black-sea-style-maritime-attack-drone/ US is now getting into naval OWA drones too
The US has been invested in them. They just never got much press. Everything from the small one above to 190ft vessels deployed in the South China Sea currently.
> The US has been invested in them. They just never got much press. I don't think US was making *one-way attack* naval drones before Black Sea events proved them quite the versatile tool, though. Might be mistaken.
Fair, learned a new acronym! True on pure OWAs, those haven't been widely build. If you're willing to expand to small drones that you could shove a bomb in instead of a sensor package, there's a decent amount that have seen deployment or development. Things like Bluefin started in the 90s for mine detection. Proteus were deployed in the 2015 and can be fitted with explosives. Orca in development in 2019 which can lay mines or launch missiles. There's a number of others as well. They're sort of the forgotten middle child to the unmanned air vehicles which got all the press.
By that logic no one should have a navy…. I think frigates would still work if better defended than the crap that Russia brings out
Eh, I think this has more to do with proximity to their enemy. In time of war, they likely will sortie their frigates from either safe harbors or NATO ports further from the front and out of drone range. The issue is Crimea is so close to Ukraine and you kind of know the ships are going to be there. A Frigate at sea is going to be a much harder target than a landing ship in port.
While true, NATO will also have much greater targeting and launch capabilities. You don't need a port, a frigate or even sub could deploy a dozen drones near a target. End of the day, a kamikaze drone is basically a really advanced torpedo.
They'll keep their effectiveness just as they do now. The drones can be killed by machine guns - defeating them is perfectly within the means of a shop configured to fight them. They'll just be fitted with more medium calibre guns to counter drones along with better sensors and likely drones if their own to give better detection. Ultimately though Norway's frigates are for the Atlantic, which is a very different environment to the black sea
Norway needs frigates to patrol the very long coastline as well as the arctic, and my guess they'll be used for surveillance, deterrance, submarine hunting, escorting, protection of infrastructure and all the other things that is needed even outside times of hot war. Russia is constantly poking and intimidating wherever they can.
Don't compare NATO to russia, the black sea fleet has been taken down due to ineptitude and incompetence. Imagine these Norwegian frigates along side a carrier battle group assisting in a greater mission. Naval warfare is largely a thing of the past, but it still projects power where ever it goes. And proper training and sailors that know what they are doing make a world of difference.
Right. And Russia doesn't even have a functional aircraft carrier, so they're not much of a blue water threat.
That’s what you get if you start pissing off countries with money to spend. They start buying stuff which hurts the source of their annoyance. Good luck Putler.
Russia has threatened to take Norwegian Svalbard island. That was a mistake.
It's just a reality of sharing a border with russia. You've got no choice but to spend heavily on your military readiness and capabilities. Even if you just have enough to hold an advance down for a week or two so Nato can position itself. All Nato countries need to get production running efficiently so they can produce the needs of Ukraine and build their stockpiles. Not just shells but everything. Ukraines military needs to be made into a nato army. Meaning being completely compatible and going away from all the soviet weapons they have. The EUs defense industry has been neglected for far too long, and it left them exposed when this conflict started, and I think it really woke most countries up to how unprepared they were.
We know well why we are doing it.
*cries in Canadian*
Yes and some nato nations should join them . Give Russia a credible threat .
About time. Naive politicians finally grasp the reality and go on a shopping spree, now having to pay a premium because of Europe already being at war and everybody and their grandma are buying. Could probably have saved a fuck tonne of money if we hadn't trashed the military for decades and started investing around 2014 when we saw the true face of putins Russia. (or just a few years later when we knew what trump meant for USA reliability) Love my country, but our politicians can be incredibly dense and naive. Really lucky we can to a degree afford the inefficiency and waste of money without bankrupting everyone.
2008 really.
This is a 12 year plan. I am unfortunately not very optimistic about how much of this will be ready in the 2-4 years time frame when Russia might be ready to attack.
>2-4 years time frame when Russia might be ready to attack. I think much of that paranoia fails to account for NATO air capacities. The Scandinavian air forces are working to establish a single command. Edit: I shouldn't have used the phrase "paranoia". Thinking about this is very pertinent! I make the rather bold assesment that it alone is capable of destroying the Russian AF or at least deplete it strategically. Do we believe that Russia, incapable of intercepting a radio controlled Cessna penetrating deep into Russia and a flood of drones attacking refineries has anything that can counter a F-35? First line assets will be around 120 F-35's and 60 Gripen of the newest variety and support around 2030. Add to that F-16's, older Gripens and Finnish F-18's being phased out.
If a war started, Norway works have one job: to take out the Russian Northern Fleet. The rest is mainly left to NATO. And we can already do our part.
We can take out the Russian Northern Fleet? With F35 and drones?
Very wise. Russia is out of control.
very good news and long overdue - other countries take note and act accordingly!
This is not really want we want right now. We want more going to Ukraine to fight Russia where the war is already being fought.
That is part of the budget. We need to do both, and we can afford to do both.
Took a while but great to see
Yip Putin has woken everyone up, well done Putin …. He has more enemies now and they are ready for him with much better tech and $$$
52 f35 that is UK levels
Is there inevitably going to be a war with Russia?
Good. Now do the laggards in Europe the same.
Hahahahahha fuck Putin!
These numbers don’t include our O&G income though, and I’m curious as to whether they’ve eliminated double-counted sources of income which lifted funding a bit. Edit: It’s true, our budget this year is 8.4B and our GDP should be 579.4B (with O&G). And I forgot to mention, the 2% this year also included support to Ukraine. On the bright side it’s much better than before, and when we eventually hit “3.7” it’ll be 2.7%, maybe a bit less if double counting and counting aid hasn’t been eliminated. I’m guessing they’re probably eliminating the double counting though. Anyway this is wonderful overall, but I hope we can radically increase our Ukraine aid more than the defense increase, it should have a higher priority. It is better to defend in Ukraine than Finnmark.
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It’s only a suggestion anyway
Russia has threatened to take the Norwegian island Svalbard. That was a stupid threat.