The Nordic Compass Defence Statement

The Nordics must act together

Europe faces its most serious security situation in decades. Threats now reach every domain, from the seabed to space, and hybrid attacks increasingly target the foundations of our societies. The risk of military conflict in our neighbourhood can no longer be treated as remote.

The Nordic countries have responded. All five are now NATO Allies, and all are significantly increasing their investment in defence and resilience. But increased budgets alone are not enough: funding must become capability – fielded fast, produced at scale, interoperable across borders and backed by security of supply. Security and competitiveness go hand in hand. A more integrated Nordic defence market makes the region safer, become an economic driver which attracts additional investments, creates new jobs and motivates future Nordic innovation.

No Nordic country can meet these threats alone. Our territories, waters and airspace form one strategic space, yet our defence systems, networks and acquisition remain divided along national lines. Combining skills, innovation and production capabilities, Nordic governments and industry can – together – counter the threats directed towards our homes and the wider European region. That is why we have joined the Nordic Compass Defence Track.

In this phase of our joint work, we have decided to focus on four specific initiatives.

Four initiatives for a safer Nordic region

Space: federated Nordic space defence capabilities.

The Nordic region can strengthen European security by building and linking sovereign space-based capabilities together. No Nordic country alone can field persistent satellite coverage for Arctic intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) or space-based missile early warning. We propose to strengthen and develop a space-based joint Nordic missile warning system, enhanced Arctic (ISR), and secure, resilient communications linking national assets with terrestrial and tactical networks – combining sovereign national assets to share awareness, data and tasking.

Subsea: protecting critical maritime infrastructure.

Nordic cables, pipelines, ports and offshore infrastructure are increasingly exposed to sabotage and hybrid threats, while monitoring and response are split across owners, authorities and borders, and sensor data cannot be shared swiftly between them without trusted, interoperable connectivity and shared accreditation rules. We propose to develop a shared Nordic maritime picture above and below the surface, starting with critical offshore assets, ports and their logistics and supply chains.

Connectivity: a borderless Nordic digital backbone.

Whether investments into cutting-edge defence systems become real capabilities depends on the advance connectivity tying them together. We envisage a secure, trusted digital backbone – multi-layer, multi-carrier, with 3GPP standards and satellite communications a critical parts – extending from civilian infrastructure and military installations to the tactical edge that will enable Nordic and Allied forces to integrate and operate as one, across borders. It will enable military mobility, integrated air and missile defence, and counter-drone protection of critical infrastructure. We propose to develop a common architecture, build connectivity into platforms and acquisition from the start and make the Nordics a spearhead for NATO Multi-Domain Operations and the EU's military mobility agenda.

A new Nordic defence industry model.

Today, requirements, certification and procurement run in five separate national chains, and industry has no joint demand signal to invest against. To deliver with the urgency the situation demands, faster and at lower cost, we need to develop one end-to-end Nordic acquisition chain in which what is tested, certified or bought in one country is valid across all participating Nordic countries, with national decision rights intact, so that new capability reaches users in months, not years. We propose four first steps: a rapid-prototyping defence innovation environment backed by a buyers' club, mutual recognition of certification, a joint Nordic capability roadmap, and a pilot framework contract that pays for production capacity.

Our commitment and our invitation

As industry, we are ready to do our part. Our senior leaders and technical experts are committed to pursuing these initiatives in full compliance with competition rules and for the benefit of the wider Nordic ecosystem, including small and medium-sized enterprises, with every initiative designed to complement and contribute to NATO and the EU security efforts.

We invite the governments of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden – in particular their defence authorities and defence forces - to join us in developing these initiatives. Together we can make the Nordic region safer, more resilient and more competitive – and a stronger contributor to European and Allied security.

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