Starting Monday, several thousand owners of buildings, ships, industrial sites, and machinery in Norway will receive letters from the military logistics organization. The message is blunt, even if sirens are not sounding: your property is designated for potential military use in war.
Norway, a NATO member that shares both a land and a maritime border with Russia, is strengthening its defensive posture.
These so-called “preparedness requisitions” are legally binding plans that enable the armed forces to quickly secure civilian resources if a conflict breaks out.
For 2026, the military plans to register 13.500 such preparedness requisitions. Most of them relate to property that could be vital for operations in a crisis: warehouses, heavy equipment, docks, ferries, fishing vessels, storage facilities, or strategically located buildings.
What this means for Norwegian owners
The notifications do not mean that troops will arrive soon or that war is expected tomorrow. In peacetime, nothing changes in practice for owners.
According to the armed forces, the letters have two main purposes: to inform citizens in advance and to remove legal and logistical uncertainty in the event of a serious security crisis.
A requisition order is valid for one year, and two-thirds of the letters sent in 2026 are renewals of earlier notifications.
Key points for affected property owners: No immediate loss of control: owners retain full use of their property in peacetime; Time-limited: preparedness plans are valid for one year and must be renewed; Conditional: actual takeover would occur only in a crisis or wartime situation decided by the authorities; Compensation rules: in the event of actual requisition, the state is expected to compensate for use or damage, in accordance with Norwegian law; Scope: the scheme covers buildings, vessels, land infrastructure and heavy machinery deemed militarily useful.
The notifications effectively place a legal designation on private property that could be needed quickly: a port suitable for unloading military supplies, a warehouse near a key road, or a fishing vessel that could support coastal surveillance.
“The most serious security situation since the Second World War”
The head of the Logistics Organization (FLO) of the Norwegian armed forces, Major General Anders Jernberg, was unusually direct in describing the context.
He said that the perceived risk of serious crises and war has “increased sharply” in recent years and that Norway now finds itself in the most serious security situation since 1945. The comments reflect unease across Northern Europe following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
“Our society must be prepared to deal with security crises, and in the worst case, with war. We have launched a massive strengthening of both military and civilian preparedness,” Jernberg said in a statement.
According to him, sending these letters helps reduce confusion in emergency situations. If the government activates wartime measures, the armed forces already know which assets they can use and who owns them.
Why Norway is taking this step now
Norway has long presented itself as NATO’s “eyes and ears” in the far north. It monitors Russian military activity in the Arctic, hosts NATO exercises, and guards key maritime routes for energy exports and allied shipping.
The country shares a 198-kilometre land border with Russia in the far north, as well as an extensive maritime boundary in the Barents Sea. That border region is important for several reasons: Bases of Russia’s Northern Fleet are nearby; Important oil and gas infrastructure lies along the Norwegian coast; Arctic sea routes and undersea cables pass through the area.
Since 2022, Norway has increased defence spending, expanded military exercises, and strengthened security around critical infrastructure following the suspected sabotage of gas pipelines in the Baltic Sea. The new requisition letters are part of this broader shift from thinking about a “peace dividend” to determined contingency planning.
How wartime requisition works in practice
Requisition laws are not unique to Norway. Many European countries retain similar powers that allow the state to temporarily use private property for defence.
In modern practice, such measures are usually strictly regulated:
The letters now being sent essentially represent the planning phase of this mechanism. The state identifies property it may need, informs owners, and maintains an up-to-date database so it does not have to improvise allocation in the midst of a crisis.
How this could play out in a real crisis
Security experts in Oslo outline a range of realistic scenarios. A full-scale invasion is considered unlikely, but limited armed incidents, cyberattacks, or hybrid operations against Norway or neighbouring states are no longer considered unrealistic.
In a heightened tension scenario, for example, the armed forces could: Use private ports and docks to unload allied equipment; Convert hotels or large buildings into temporary barracks or medical facilities; Invite local fishing boats to help monitor coastal areas; Use construction machinery to strengthen roads, airport runways, or fortifications.
Since these assets are already registered with clear contact information and terms, the military can act faster and avoid legal disputes when time is critical.
What Norwegians are asking and what they get in return
The letters inevitably raise questions among citizens: Will I be fairly compensated? Can I refuse? Does this mean war is near?
Officials stress that this is preventive planning, not a warning of war. They emphasize three main principles: The state cannot simply confiscate property in peacetime under this scheme; Any real requisition in wartime includes a legal obligation to pay compensation; The list is reviewed annually, allowing owners to update information or raise concerns.
For now, the government is betting that transparency helps maintain public trust. Informing people early can limit panic in a crisis and underline that defence is now a whole-of-society effort, not just the job of soldiers at remote bases.
Background: total defence and civil-military cooperation
Norway, like several of its Nordic neighbours, uses the concept of “total defence”. This means that in a serious crisis, civil society and the private sector are expected to support military operations, while the armed forces help maintain civilian life.
This may include joint planning for energy, logistics, communications, and food supply. The new wave of requisition notices fits that logic: roads, ferries, warehouses, and buildings are part of an integrated national plan.
For readers outside Scandinavia, this idea may sound unsettling. Yet in states that still have conscription or strong memories of occupation, such as Norway or Finland, the idea that every citizen and every asset can play a role in defence is less abstract.
What it really means to be “NATO’s eyes and ears in the north”
A phrase often used by Norwegian officials has a specific meaning. Norway hosts advanced radar and intelligence installations, monitors key sea lanes to the Arctic, and shares real-time data with NATO allies.
That role comes with risk. In a conflict between Russia and NATO, northern Norway could quickly become a strategic flashpoint. Air bases, ports, and radars in the region would be among the first targets to be monitored, and nearby civilian infrastructure could suddenly take on military significance.
Seen through that prism, the letters arriving in Norwegian mailboxes this month are not just bureaucratic notices. They are another signal that on Europe’s northern flank, the boundary between ordinary civilian life and national defence is growing thinner and thinner, envelope by envelope.
