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Norwegian engagement on armed drones has been marked by vigorous debate in the past few years, in particular through the release of the documentary Drone in 2014 by Norwegian filmmaker Tonje Hesse Schei, featuring the drone whistle-blower Brandon Bryant. However, successive governments have been quiet on this topic, resulting in a lull in the public and political debate.

Norway currently does not possess armed drones. Moreover, the ‘Future acquisitions for the Norwegian Defence Sector 2017-2025’ plan does not indicate the acquirement of drones for the near future.

Norway does produce and possess the Nano UAV, a miniature hand-held drone, which has been acquired by several armed forces, and there is the continious development and application of small and medium-size drones for peaceful purposes, such as the Drone FX-450

 

Articulate Clear Policies

In 2014, the UN Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial, Summary or Arbitrary Executions, professor Christof Heyns, urged Norway to challenge the US-led coalition to end the drone war. He warned of possible violations of international law, and that this should be discussed by Norway. “The world listens to the voice of Norway for it is often the voice of reason,” he said. This call seemed to be taken up by the Norwegian parliament, as the issue of US’ drone attacks was the subject of a seminar in the Norwegian parliament in September 2014.  At that time, a spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affair asked:

“What if Russia and China in future use drones like the US does today, inside other countries where there are people they wish to fight against? What if groups like Isis get armed drones? We have to expect this will happen.”

In the 2014-2015 report about human rights in Norway development cooperation, the Norwegian government states that:

“The use of combat drones in armed conflicts is in itself considered lawful. However, as with other weapons, drones must be used in accordance with humanitarian law and other international law. In particular, the use of combat drones across borders raises questions related to fundamental rules for the use of force, human rights and humanitarian law.”

A 2015 report by the Expert Commission on Norwegian Security and Defence Policy considers the opportunities of military unmanned systems as part of the future Norwegian armed forces, though it states that “armed drones also raise ethical and legal issues. In any case: Unmanned systems in the air, at sea and on land will in the future be used by Norway and against Norway.”

 

Ensure Transparency, Prevent Complicity and Establish Accountability

In 2013, Norway was accused of being involved in unlawful US drone strikes. In an article in the Norwegian newspaper Bergens Tidende, the question was posed whether Norwegian intelligence gathering of Afghanistan mobile data could have been used by the US to identify who to kill. In an answer to this question, the Norwegian Intelligence Service answered that “The Intelligence Service contributed to the NATO-led operation in Afghanistan and has shared intelligence with the participating nations within the ISAF-collaboration. Intelligence produced by Norwegian units may therefore have formed part of operations which are carried out within the framework of war law and applicable rules of engagement. Such operations may have included the use of weapon-carrying drones.” Whether these operations are indeed carried out within the framework of international law and applicable rules of engagement, is often subject to debate.

Other concerns are that Norwegian bases provide intelligence to the US that can be used in drone strikes, according to this 2018 documentary and an Intercept article on the Hønefoss base.

 

Control proliferation

Norwegian companies are heavily involved in the armed drone industry. Examples of these include Chemring Nobel, which provides explosives for drones and exports fuel for the Hellfire-missile, Kongsberg Defence Systems, which delivers software for NATO’s Global Hawk drones, and Kongsberg’ subsidiary, Svalsat, which supplies a satellite ground station that helps the US operate drones in Afghanistan and Iraq. Other Norwegian companies are involved in the development and production of components and munitions for drones, a surveillance drone for export,  and software which can be used in the communication between drone operators and the missiles they launch.

 

• Norway has signed the Joint Declaration for the Export and Subsequent Use of Armed or Strike-Enabled Unmanned Aerial Vehicles on October 28th, 2016.
• Norway is not part of the EU and hence not part of the EU’s Common Position on Arms Exports.
• The Norwegian government does maintain restrictions for the export of defence-related products enshrined in the Export Control Act and Export Control Regulations. The guidelines set up by the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs also mention respect for human rights and international humanitarian law as criterions the recipient country needs to meet.
• Norway is a member of the Wassenaar Arrangement which was the first global multilateral arrangement on export controls for conventional weapons and sensitive dual-use goods and technologies, and of the Missile Technology Control Regime, which aims to restrict the proliferation of, amongst others, unmanned aerial vehicles.