Ståle Ulriksen

There's some confusion as regards comparisons of military spending since the difference between nominal GDP and GDP as purchasing power parities is important. Here's a rough method. I start with finding the ratio between nominal and PPP:

@HoyasFan07 😁

@Stulrixen Allies like Norway have many friends in DC. Especially on the Hill. Both House and Senate, both parties. Even DJT, who is not very fond of NATO or Western Europe, sort of likes the Norwegians bc they buy lots of American military equipment and are.... blond. 🙄🤦‍♂️

cepa.org/article/can-eu… "History also suggests that Russian’s poor strategic geography can be manipulated by well-directed maritime forces to deter aggression."

@HoyasFan07 I know. It's quite worrying. In the national debate on defence I've been arguing that the US needs to prioritize the Pacific for years. The increased number of slips in the Bohai yard, and Russian transfer of tech will only worsen the situation.

@Stulrixen 46 SSNs around the end of this decade. Which is arguably when the threat from China will be at its highest. Which is a pretty dangerous combination. We are stuck at approx 1.2 boats per year in terms of production but need to be >2.5 .

@HoyasFan07 I want to add that below all the political turbulence the military cooperation between Norway, US and UK forces in the northern seas are running very smoothly.

@HoyasFan07 This will stretch our resources, even with the planned increase.

@HoyasFan07 Well, submarines may be hunted with MPAs and frigates as well as diesel subs. Most of the Northern fleet subs are built to fight the USA, so it seems that it is in US interest to keep an eye on them.

attack submarines (all of them French and British.) The Europeans are short on both nuclear and conventional submarines as compared to the Russians in the critical Barents/Norwegian Sea area, and would need the support of US nuclear submarines to counter those of Russia in war."

@ComputerSageJAB @visegrad24 Most of Norway's needs are covered by hydro-electric plants.

@visegrad24 Stuff works better than solar and wind mills , does it not?

🇳🇴 Norway's oil exports hit a record high amid the Iran war Strait of Hormuz disruptions caused a supply shock, positioning Norway as a key stability supplier for the UK and EU. Crude exports reached 57.4 billion kroner ($6.08 billion), up 67.9% year-on-year, with average oil prices at 1,014 kroner ($107.52) per barrel, the highest since late 2023. Total export revenues climbed to nearly 200 billion kroner ($21 billion), a 28% increase. Production reached 1.97 million barrels per day in early 2026. Despite the boom, domestic costs are rising. Fuel prices jumped more than 18% in March, pushing core inflation to 3.6%. While the state gains an estimated $185 million daily, debate grows over profiting from conflict while maintaining Norway's peace broker image.

@DrNilesCraneMD @visegrad24 Norway does not produce enough to meet Europe's needs.

@visegrad24 Why isn’t Europe always buying their oil from Norway instead of the Middle East??

@HoyasFan07 But in GDP PPP Russia scores 7,5 trillion while those three have 2,9 trillion. In military analysis this is extremly important. The same goes for China and every country that does not import their arms.

fun fact: if you add up Denmark, Sweden and the Netherlands, you get Russia's GDP (2.6 trillion). Those 3 European countries combined have a population of 35 million. Russia's population is >140 million. And Russia has far more natural resource wealth.

Zelensky deeply worried about the future of the PURL programme, especially for deliveries of PAC-2s and PAC-3s.

Zelensky in Norway nrk.no/urix/ukrainas-…

@NavalInstitute There are just two Krivaks left, locked in the Black Sea...

@zriboua Its easier to deny than to control, and ( with the US order of battle) less risky to destroy than to operate a checkpoint with presumably stricter rules of engagement.

You can’t objectively look at this and say they can’t do anything about Strait of Hormuz.

Oil prices will go down next week.

@Serrax @halcyon815 @thejaewilliams @GetonTrightside @pureMetatron We accept about 400 students each year. Some 28-31 percent of the applicants are women. Most of our students, including the women, have served as conscripts prior to applying. We chose the best no matter the gender.

@Serrax @halcyon815 @thejaewilliams @GetonTrightside @pureMetatron There is no separate quota for women at the Norwegian Defence University. They have to compete. If similar scores, the woman is chosen. So, yes they are equally skilled, and women are often more motivated.

The stupidest and most dishonest distortion of Charlie's real point. All you guys do is strawman a dead man who cannot respond. He was absolutely right by the way, when he said what he said about seeing a Black pilot. I agree with him 100%. Because it was a take on DEI, NOT race. This astronaut was clearly chosen for his skill, NOT his skin, so Charlie would have had ZERO problems with him. And neither do I. DEI is anti-White non meritocratic racism and it must be removed from our societies entirely, not matter how much left wing cultists cry about it. Cults don't matter.

@steveo49sc56051 @ModernNavy Nope. Important for Norway not to be biggest user due to share of future upgrades. So UK will get eight, Norway "at least five". UK delivery will be postponed, though, unless yard can speed up production. I think that's the plan. We need all before 2036, or asap really.

@ModernNavy He lied they are building 7 - 6 frigates, with 2 seemingly being sold to Norway 🇳🇴 once complete so really the Royal Navy will only recieve 5 frigates !

1/ The uneasy relationship between Labour Ministers and naval numbers. Prime Minister Keir Starmer noted in his speech to the House "We are investing £300 million more in shipbuilding, & we have 13 ships on order. That is the difference between the two parties." This lacks detail

@HoyasFan07 No doubt about the T-26 being the best for blue water ASW, but Norway also have to protect a huge amount of oil- and gas installations, and the missile capability of the Northern Fleet is increasing rapidly. Hence the need for more long range air defence.

@Stulrixen Though the T26 arguably also was the best ship - putting geopolitics aside - for hunting Russian subs in the north Atlantic. The French and German ships may be optimized for other tasks.

if France and the UK continue to underspend on defense, the 4 nordics (combined population 30M) will fairly soon have greater net conventional military capabilities than either of them. one could probably argue that they already do in some areas of conventional military

@HoyasFan07 Depends on the radar, In my opinion they (and we) need something capable of taking out ballistic anti-ship missiles. For Norway that is the only drawback with the T-26. Hope for an upgrade of batch II.

@Stulrixen Would the British type 31 be insufficient for this?

@HoyasFan07 Agreed, but threats to UNCLOS may trigger deployments, we'll see in the next weeks.... And then there is AUKUS (?)

@Stulrixen Indeed. But the Russian threat in the North Atlantic is the clear priority. I also am a bit doubtful that British carriers will be spending much time east of Diego Garcia (or even east of Suez) in the future. I think there will be greater prioritization of the European theater.

the norwegians bought it in large part bc they determined it was the best boat in the business for countering Russian subs in the North Atlantic. and maybe the best ASW frigate period. but Norway is just focused on RU subs in their own region so whether it's the best for