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Saving money on Nordic transport
The Norwegian Defence is looking to save millions on a Nordic co-operation on joint aerial transport of personnel and equipment for operations abroad. Transporting supplies to Norwegian personnel in Afghanistan could have been three times as expensive as it is today.
By: Jahn Rønne, FMS
MONEY INTO MIDAIR: It is expensive for Norway to use its own transport aircraft to bring supplies to foreign operations. Through a cooperation with Sweden and Finland millions have been saved since last year. Archive photo: Sissel Amundsen, FMS.
Sweden, Finland and Norway initiated a year ago a co-operation to split flight-expenses for bringing supplies and personnel in or out of Afghanistan. This co-operation has already saved each of these nations millions.
- On the Norwegian side we estimate having saved US dollars 821 000 over the last 44 weeks, said Captain Eystein Skaugvoll, tranport operations officer in the Norwegian Defence Logistic Organisation/Transport. Depending on the course of the American dollar, this is between 5,7 and 6 million Norwegian kroner.
Started in Bosnia
- This is the second time the Nordic countries co-operate in this manner. The first time was during operations in Bosnia, said Captain Skaugvoll. Now Finland and Sweden plans to set up joint transportation to Africa as they are contributing forces to operations there. Norway will most likely also benefit from this co-operation as we have personnel deployed in Kongo. The co-operation in regards to Afghanistan was established a year ago as the first troops were to be deployed.
- We started with a joint effort in which we made military transport aircraft available on a rotation basis, but eventually concluded that it would be more beneficial to split the expenses of hiring in chartered civilian aircraft, said Skaugvoll. The Captain specifies, however, that in cases where "dangerous goods" are transported military transport aircraft are always used.
Eager for Nordic co-operation
The established joint efforts are carried out through what is called the Nordic Coordinated Arrangement for Military Peace Support (Nordcaps). Within the co-operation a Nordic Movement Coordination Center has been established. One of the nations involved is in charge of this coordination process for six months at a time. Norway was in charge of the co-operation the first six months of last year.
- There is a constant need for transport of special parts and supplies to the Nordic forces abroad, said Captain Skaugvoll. Through the current co-operation the costs of each of the nations involved is reduced to one third. In the cases where a nation is forced to send an aircraft to a theatre of operations, contact is established with the other nations to establish whether they need to transport equipment to their forces, and thus distribute the expenses.
A similar co-operation is now to be put together in regards to naval transportation. When, for example, Norway and Sweden are both to take part in Exercise Nordic Peace in Finland later this year, they will join their efforts to transport equipment across the Baltic Sea.
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