NOK 750 million in annual currency exchange for the Armed Forces – E24

The estimate comes in response to the Storting on the proposal of a new long-term plan for the Armed Forces and the additional costs that will be incurred in the years 2021-2024.

– With a continuation of the current long-term plan (alternative zero) and an exposure to the currency similar to that of 2020, the Defense, given the exchange rates as of May 2020, has estimated additional spending of around NOK 750 million annually, writes Defense Minister Frank Bakke-Jensen (H).

The measures in the new long-term plan have not yet been included as part of the budget process. The plan is now being considered at Storting.

Bakke-Jensen emphasizes that the estimate of the additional cost of the coin is fraught with “great uncertainty,” including that related to measures in a new long-term plan and the gradual introduction of new combat aircraft.

According to Bakke-Jensen, “the exchange rate exposure of the Armed Forces is likely to increase relative to the 2020 level.”

– This indicates additional spending even higher than indicated above, as long as the level of the Norwegian krone remains weak for the next four years, he writes.

In the revised national budget, the ministry notes “substantial additional currency spending” also in 2020. In Tuesday’s proposal, the government reallocates $ 206 million internally to the defense budget to cover the additional costs of fuel and foreign exchange.