King Haakon VIII Visits Russian Border as Finnmark Builds Brigade and Preparedness
Between soldiers, schoolchildren and artillery in the far north, Norway is showing how seriously it takes the defense of Finnmark.
KIRKENES/PORSANGER – When King Haakon VIII woke at the Jarfjord border station on Wednesday morning, the day began as it did for the conscripts around him: with a run and breakfast together. A few hours later he was aboard a SAR Queen helicopter bound for a firing range near Porsanger, to see artillery, air defense and drones.
The two-day trip, on Tuesday, Oct. 13, and Wednesday, Oct. 14, was the king’s first official visit outside the capital since he took the throne. King Harald V died in late August after 35 years as monarch. King Haakon chose the Finnmark Brigade and the border with Russia early in his reign.
From Narvik to the border
Tuesday began in Narvik, where the king met wartime witnesses, young people working on democracy, and representatives of total defense, Norway’s whole-of-society preparedness system. Narvik harbor and the Ofoten Lineare important for receiving and moving allied reinforcements. “It is important that we manage to preserve the open, free and diverse society we have created together,” the king said in Narvik, linking young people’s democracy work, volunteering and cooperation among the preparedness actors to the 2026 total defense year.
He then continued to Kirkenes and Jarfjord, where company commander Kari Kollbotn and battalion commander Audun Jørstad received him. Kollbotn told The Barents Observer that the visit was motivating for soldiers and staff, and that she wanted to show the people who carry out the border mission. The king spent the night at the station and on Wednesday received briefings on the border area, among others from police chief Trond Eirik Nilsen and border commissioner Gøran Stenseth. 330 Squadron then flew him to the Hálkavárri firing range, before the visit continued to Porsangmoen and the Finnmark technical workshop.
A brigade under construction
Behind the visit lies one of the largest military buildups in Northern Norway in decades. The Finnmark Brigade was established in August 2025 on the basis of Finnmark Land Defense and has its headquarters at Porsangmoen, about 20 kilometers south of Lakselv. According to the Armed Forces, the brigade includes the Jegerbataljonen GSV, which monitors and patrols the 198-kilometer border with Russia. It also includes the Porsanger Battalion, a cavalry battalion meant to provide immediate armed resistance, as well as the Kristiansten Artillery Battalion, the Skoganvarre Signals Company and an air defense battery. Home Guard District 17 (HV-17) is also part of the picture.
Three new units were formally established on Aug. 20, 2026, with staffs, the first troops and parts of the equipment in place. The Armed Forces then reported about 350 permanent employees, up from 280 a year earlier. The goal is 700 to 800 permanent employees and a total force structure of roughly 4,000, including conscripts and reservists, by 2033. That is the year used both in the establishment announcement and in the government’s budget proposal for 2027.
The king saw a K9 howitzer, a CV90 mortar vehicle, the portable Piorun air defense system, drones and a Sisucommand post vehicle, according to the Royal Court. On Sept. 19, 2025, the Norwegian Defence Materiel Agencysigned a contract with South Korea’s Hanwha Aerospace for 24 new K9 Vidar howitzers for the brigade. They are due for delivery toward the end of 2027 and will be transferred to the Army in 2028. The system has a 155-millimeter gun and a stated range of more than 40 kilometers. Four howitzers were already at Porsangmoen in August.
The pace of construction
Brigade commander John Olav Fuglem points to a bottleneck. The weapons are coming, but barracks, housing, offices and multipurpose halls must be built “faster and cheaper,” he said in August. Statsbygg’s defense counterpart Forsvarsbygg reports 6.7 billion kroner for property, buildings and facilities in Finnmark through 2036, including at Porsangmoen and Høybuktmoen. In August 2025, Forsvarsbygg handed over a construction phase at Porsangmoen costing about 1.5 billion kroner, with 198 beds for conscripts, 72 officer quarters and 41 family apartments in Lakselv. New projects worth about 200 million kroner, including two multipurpose halls due for completion in 2027, were announced at the same time.
Air defense is also on its way. Battery commander Brede Brandskognes told Forsvarets forum in August that the unit will receive several layers of protection, from portable air defense to medium-range systems, with deliveries from 2027. The choice of systems was still open, according to the newspaper’s correction.
Preparedness in the classroom
In Finnmark, the civilian population is also drawn in. Colonel Tomas Bakke, commander of HV-17, has led a collaboration with the police and the County Governor on preparedness training in schools, stronger municipal preparedness councils and security clearance of key municipal personnel. Bakke received the Police Medal with Laurel Branch on June 3, 2026, for his work.
Preparedness Week began at Kirkenes Upper Secondary School in October 2025 with 170 second-year students, and the teaching covers total defense, first aid, evacuation, personal preparedness and source criticism. High North News reported in August that 813 students had taken part, and that students brought questions about water, food and preparedness home to their families, according to Bakke.
The government announced on Oct. 7 that the courses will become permanent in Finnmark and be expanded to Nord-Troms. The 2027 budget proposal includes 15 million kroner more for the Center for Resilience in the North in Kirkenes and 6 million kroner for municipal preparedness work. The Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee has asked the government to examine a nationwide scheme based on the Finnmark model.
Leadership training is also expanding. The Home Guard’s squad leader school at Porsangmoen graduated its first class in June, and Lakselv Upper Secondary School opened a three-year sports program in August with a focus on defense and preparedness, with 14 students in its first class.
A routine mission in the air
While the king was in the north, two Norwegian F-35 jets from Evenes identified Russian aircraft over the Barents Sea on Wednesday morning, according to NTB, which cites Altaposten. The flight took place in international airspace, and Air Force spokesman Stian Roen called the mission routine.
The numbers point upward. The Armed Forces’ statistics, updated Oct. 14, show 82 scrambles and 112 identified aircraft so far in 2026, compared with 41 scrambles and 53 identified aircraft in all of 2025. The figures cover identification missions on behalf of NATO.
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