“Most of Norwegian defense investments go abroad. Last year, just NOK 7 billion was spent on Norwegian suppliers. Kongsberg alone accounted for 5 billion, while the entire market available to small and medium sized Norwegian companies amounted to only 1 billion,” said Lohne.
At the same time, Kongsberg exports roughly 90 percent of its production and purchases several billions worth of goods and services from 1,500 Norwegian suppliers.
“In Agder alone, Kongsberg bought products and services worth NOK 1.1 billion, that is more than the Norwegian Armed Forces purchased from all Norwegian SMEs,” said Lohne.
Knut Mjåland, CEO of GCE NODE, took the stage to give an update on the Fremtidens Forsvarsindustri Sør project, outlining how regional industry is positioning itself to meet national defense needs through collaboration, competence building, and long term industrial development.
CTO at Kitron, Stian Haugen, described how the company navigates new opportunities and challenges in defense and aerospace. Kitron operates 13 factories in 11 countries. As a contract manufacturer, it owns no products but builds scalable capacity for customers across industries.
“Among 2,200 European electronics manufacturers, Kitron ranks as the eighth largest, with our biggest factory located in Arendal,” said Haugen.
He emphasized the complexity of global supply chains, the need for rapid technological adaptation, and the importance of training. During a recent surge, Kitron hired over 500 employees in less than three months, many of whom were trained internally. The company now has 300 engineers and more than 3,000 employees without formal trade certificates.
Tom Fidjeland, CEO of Umoe Mandal, highlighted the company’s sharp focus on high speed and large composite vessels. With nearly 200 employees, Umoe is expanding rapidly, currently hiring one new employee per week, and aims to quadruple its turnover between 2024 and 2028.
Sikkerhetsforum Sør brought together voices from Norway, the Nordics, Ukraine, Poland, Estonia, and several allied nations. An impressive lineup of ambassadors, defense industry leaders, and security specialists from across Europe came to Evje last week to attend the security forum.
Among the international guests at the security forum was Liliya Honcharevych, Chair of the Nordic Europe Hub in Kyiv. She stressed that modern warfare rewards those who adapt faster than the battlefield changes. In Ukraine, 500 dollar drones can destroy multimillion dollar systems, revealing a dramatic gap between real time battlefield innovation and the slow pace of European defense procurement.
Her message underscored the urgency of closer civil military cooperation and faster industrial response.
