Norway still plans to acquire a new multi-role fighter, but the decision date has slipped, according to Brig. Gen. Geir Harildstad, Royal Norwegian AF inspector of flying. At a conference in London last week, Gen. Harildstad said that the Norwegian Parliament will debate the need for a new fighter in the fall, weighing the RNoAF fighter requirement against a Navy request for a new frigate program. If the fighter acquisition is approved, the RNoAF would solicit proposals early next year and take a decision in 2000. The RNoAF has announced that it has short-listed an advanced version of the Lockheed Martin F-16 and the Eurofighter Typhoon.

The new fighters will make up for attrition in the Norwegian F-16A/B force and replace the service's F-5s. However, Norway has revised its military doctrine to reflect new ideas of "maneuver warfare," according to Gen. Harildstad, and this is leading to an increased emphasis on offensive air operations-the F-16s now in service are primarily assigned to the defensive counter-air mission. The new multi-role fighters will constitute a "reserve force, mobile and able to deliver concentrated firepower," Gen. Harildstad said. The number to be acquired will depend on funding and price, he says.