As we are approaching the one-year mark for the NATO Smart Defense idea, Defense representatives from the five Nordic Embassies, the United States Department of Defense and Allied Command Transformation (ACT) met at the Swedish embassy for a roundtable discussion on how the Nordic Defense Cooperation (NORDEFCO) is Smart Defense. The roundtable was moderated by Mr. Ian Brzezinski (Atlantic Council).
Smart Defense is defined by NATO as “a renewed culture of cooperation that encourages Allies to cooperate in developing, acquiring and maintaining military capabilities to undertake the Alliance’s essential core tasks agreed in the new NATO strategic concept. That means pooling and sharing capabilities, setting priorities and coordinating efforts better.” In essence, Smart Defense is a project that encourages NATO’s members to work better together and with their partners. Consequently, closer cooperation between the Nordic countries is also a form of Smart Defense.
Cooperation on defense has taken place for many decades in Scandinavia, but in the age of austerity and with tighter defense budgets, it has now become more important. NORDEFCO is the name the long-lasting defense cooperation between the five Nordic countries got after the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding in 2009. NORDEFCO is not an organization but a working structure for regional cooperation. All operational decisions are made through the national chain of command in each respective country.
NORDEFCO comes in addition to NATO, and is not a competing structure. Its three basic elements are 1) To support the Nordic countries’ security and defense policies, 2) To exchange equipment and cooperate on procurements and logistics, and 3) Operational cooperation.
It is based on shared security challenges in the region, similar military-strategic assessments, similar financial challenges and comparable force requirements. Similar military capabilities may fall below critical levels. The Nordic nations will seek corporation within areas where two or more nations find it beneficial.
The benefits of close defense cooperation are many. The countries’ geographical proximity is important logistically. Shared language, traditions and culture make working together easy. Similar economies, development level and challenges make the countries equals. There is also strong political and top-level military support – both domestically and from NATO and the EU – for a closer collaboration.
But the diverging affiliations in security policy might also cause challenges. Norway, Denmark and Iceland are members of NATO. Sweden and Finland are not. At the same time, Norway and Iceland are not members of the EU. Other challenges to NORDEFCO can include various political priorities, divergent defense industry policies, and national regulation and procedures.
The NORDEFCO cooperation has already shown good results. Some examples of this are the Archer artillery program, a joint effort between Norway and Sweden, and Finland’s acquisition of the Norwegian NASAMS II air-defense system. There is also an ongoing study to see whether Norway, Sweden and Denmark – which all operate the C-130J Super Hercules – could cooperate more closely on tactical air transport. There has also been very good experiences with joint cross-border training, for example, when the combined territories and airspace of Norway, Sweden and Finland are being used for exercise and training.
Good examples of Smart Defense in NATO are the long-lasting collaboration on Airborne Warning and Control System aircraft (AWACS) and the collaboration on the C-17 Strategic Airlift Capability (SAC) in Hungary. Another outstanding example is the NATO Sea sparrow Project which was established 40 years before the term “Smart Defense” was even introduced. These capabilities are all important to NATO’s operational readiness, and as part of a joint venture are more economical than if each country were to maintain that same capability on its own. Furthermore, NATO has many more projects that have been proposed under the auspices of Smart Defense.
NORDEFCO is a good example of a “Cooperation Cluster,” but the extent of the cooperation should not be overemphasized at this time. It is still a project that is in its infancy and its effect should not be exaggerated, although it has shown some promising results at this early stage. The Nordic Defense Attachés all agree that the close cooperation between the Nordic countries might be an example to follow – the concept of NORDEFCO is Smart Defense.