The Nordic Defence Cooperation (NORDEFCO) is a collaboration among the

Nordic countries The Nordic countries (also known as the Nordics or ''Norden''; ) are a geographical and cultural region in Northern Europe, as well as the Arctic Ocean, Arctic and Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic oceans. It includes the sovereign states of Denm ...

in the area of defence. Its five members are

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

Iceland Iceland is a Nordic countries, Nordic island country between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Europe. It is culturally and politically linked with Europe and is the regi ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

, and

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

. The organization aims to strengthen the member countries' defence capabilities by identifying areas for cooperation and promoting effective solutions. The memorandum of understanding was signed in

Helsinki Helsinki () is the Capital city, capital and most populous List of cities and towns in Finland, city in Finland. It is on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and is the seat of southern Finland's Uusimaa region. About people live in the municipali ...

on November 4, 2009, succeeding the Nordic Supportive Defence Structures (NORDSUP), the Nordic armaments cooperation (NORDAC) and the Nordic Coordinated Arrangement for Military Peace Support (NORDCAPS), previous parallel cooperative arrangements. Participation in the NORDEFCO is voluntary and states can choose which areas they want to collaborate within and to what extent. This means that cooperation can occur bilaterally and among all five members. It is also considered within the organizational scope to work with non-Nordic countries in fields where there is an added value to doing so. According to the official webpage, the cooperation is based on the conviction that there is much to be gained through cost sharing, joint solutions, and joint actions.

Limitations

Practical Nordic and Scandinavian defence cooperation has been impeded by their differing memberships:

Organization

The official presidency of the organization rotates among the member states, but the Nordic Ministers of Defence are ultimately responsible for NORDEFCO; they meet twice a year. They preside over the Nordic Defence Policy Steering Committee, composed of senior departmental officers from the member countries. Underneath this committee is the Nordic Military Coordination Committee, composed of

flag officer A flag officer is a commissioned officer in a nation's armed forces senior enough to be entitled to fly a flag to mark the position from which that officer exercises command. Different countries use the term "flag officer" in different ways: * ...

s who represent the member countries' Chiefs of Defence. The areas of cooperation (COPAs) are divided into five sections: *Strategic Development (COPA SD) *Capabilities (COPA CAPA) *Human Resources & Education (COPA HR&E) *Training & Exercises (COPA TR&EX) *Operations (COPA OPS) These are staffed with senior officers from the participating countries and mandated to further coordinate and implement the given tasks. The recommendations reported back from the COPAs also form the basis for the decisions made by the Nordic Defence Policy Steering Committee and the Nordic Military Coordination Committee. In addition to the Cooperation Areas
Acquisition & Life Cycle Support
(ALCS) is tasked with coordinating and facilitating armaments relating to cooperation issues. This is performed through a yearly screening process, where all participating nations provide input from their procurement plans. The plans are compared, screened, and cooperation possibilities, vetted by ALCS, are identified. If considered suitable for further cooperation, established formally as a Subgroup. These Subgroups comprise experts from the participating nations, and are tasked with establishing the foundations for how cooperation can happen, for instance, gearing towards a common procurement project. Historically, such cooperation has enabled the Nordic nations to take advantage of upwards of €60 million in cost savings.

Nordic Combat Uniform

Wanting a more integrated military in the Nordic countries, the Nordic militaries began a search for a shared Nordic Combat Uniform (NCU), including all clothing from underwear to jacket. The countries each provided a list of demands to suppliers, wanting customization and ability to easily modify them for a wide range of climates. Following a series of tests, a system was chosen and the first orders made in 2022. While the clothing systems are the same, each country uses its camouflage pattern.

Mutual defence

NORDEFCO has not generally been seen as a mutual defence pact and it is not regarded as a command structure, but its members have increasingly added features that show some resemblance to a defence pact. In 2021, the defence ministers of Denmark, Norway and Sweden signed an agreement of increased cooperation among their militaries with a coordination structure that would make it easier to "act together in peace, crisis or conflict" in the southern Nordic region, and in 2022 it was agreed to further enhance the capabilities by allowing access to each other's airspace and military infrastructure. A similar agreement for the northern Nordic region already existed between Finland, Norway and Sweden, which was further updated in 2022. Following Finland's and Sweden's request to join NATO in 2022, Denmark, Iceland and Norway released a statement saying that in the case of an attack on Finland or Sweden before they had become part of NATO, all necessary means would be used to help in their defence.

Limitations

Organization

Nordic Combat Uniform

Mutual defence

See also

References

Further reading