Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store said Reitan, outside Bodo in northern Norway, will be the location of NATO’s new combined air operations center. The site was among two locations proposed by the government, the other being Rygge Air Force Base in Bodo.
The selection follows NATO’s acceptance earlier in the year of Norway’s proposal to build the regional facility in the country.
Støre emphasized the importance of the location, given the alliance and the nation’s strategic interests in the northernmost pole. “Norway’s most important strategic interests lie in the High North. It therefore makes sense for the new allied air operations center to be located in the north,” the premier said in his announcement. “The new center will be situated close to the Norwegian Joint Headquarters, making the Bodø area a hub for the command and control of military operations in our region.”
According to Defence Minister Tore O. Sandvik, the new facility will bring a more robust, unified defense strategy for the region.
The new site, expected to start operations by late 2025, will be temporarily located at Bodo Air Base during its first few years. It follows the alliance’s establishment of the Maritime Centre for Security of Critical Undersea Infrastructure on the outskirts of London in 2024.