Norway to strengthen Ukrainian air defense by over $100 million

Additional air defense systems will be purchased from the United States through the JUMPSTART program, the Norwegian Ministry of Defense noted.

The Norwegian government has decided to allocate another 1,2 billion Norwegian kroner ($106 million) for air defense equipment for Ukraine, the Scandinavian country's Defense Ministry announced the day before.

"Air defense has long been Ukraine's top priority military need, and is extremely important for protecting both military and civilian infrastructure, as well as the population of Ukraine. In 2024, Norway provided Ukraine with air defense worth over 6 billion kroner. The government recently decided to spend an additional approximately 1,2 billion kroner on Ukraine's air defense measures," said Norwegian Defense Minister Tore O. Sandvik.

During a meeting of the Ukraine Contact Group on Wednesday, Norway told Defense Minister Rustem Umerov that it would provide more air defense by purchasing it from the U.S. The contribution will be made through the JUMPSTART program, just as Norway previously made a larger contribution for F-16s (when support for the Ukrainian Air Force was increased by 1,3 billion kroner and 130 small boats were transferred).

The JUMPSTART program builds on the well-established Foreign Military Sales (FMS) program, under which countries can purchase military equipment and support services through the Pentagon.

The allocated funds are part of 22,5 billion kroons (almost $2 billion) that will go towards military support for Ukraine in 2025 through the Nansen program.