Norway Army

The Norwegian Army, known as Haeren, operates under the Army Staff headquartered at Bardufoss in northern Norway. Ground forces are organized around two primary tactical formations: Brigade Nord and the Finnmark Brigade. Brigade Nord serves as the primary maneuver force, maintaining armored, mechanized infantry, artillery, combat engineering, and logistics units distributed across bases at Setermoen, Skjold, and Rena. The Finnmark Brigade, stationed at Porsangmoen and Hoybuktmoen near the Norwegian-Russian border, oversees land defense and border security operations in the High North. Additional formations include His Majesty The King's Guard located in Oslo, which handles capital defense, and the Army Land Warfare Centre, which manages doctrine and tactical development.

Armor and mechanized arms operate Leopard 2 main battle tanks and CV90 infantry fighting vehicles. The CV90 platform is deployed across multiple roles, including armored infantry fighting, command, reconnaissance, and combat engineering. Tactical mobility in Arctic conditions is supported by tracked articulated all-terrain vehicles and Iveco LMV light armored mobility platforms. Indirect fire capabilities are built around K9 Thunder 155 mm tracked self-propelled howitzers and K10 ammunition resupply vehicles, alongside unit-level mortar systems. Air defense forces utilize the NASAMS surface-to-air missile system, supplemented by short-range air defense units deploying surface-launched infrared-guided missiles on tracked armored hulls.

Modernization programs focus on upgrading mechanized and armored formations. Norway is acquiring Leopard 2A8 main battle tanks to replace older armored inventory and expanding its fleet of CV90 vehicles with additional combat support variants. The indirect fire arm is expanding through acquisitions of additional K9 Thunder self-propelled howitzers. Air defense modernization includes integrating mobile short-range air defense platforms directly into maneuver units to protect field formations against low-altitude aerial threats.

The army's primary mission is national land defense and the fulfillment of NATO collective defense obligations. In past overseas operations, Norwegian land forces deployed to Afghanistan under ISAF and Resolute Support, where mechanized units from the Telemark Battalion conducted combat operations in northern sectors. Norwegian ground troops have also participated in peace enforcement in Kosovo and capacity-building missions in Iraq. The army maintains rotational troop deployments in Eastern Europe as part of NATO Enhanced Forward Presence battle groups in Lithuania.