"The US and Norway will cooperate in establishing a temporary satellite station at Andoya Air Base," the government said in a statement published on Wednesday, adding that the new station will be the first of its kind outside the US and "will provide early warning to Norway and NATO if cruise missiles are detected in the northern areas."
Norway's geographic location is convenient for communications with satellites in polar orbits. The Andoya satellite station will be built as part of US-Norwegian space cooperation framework, but it also will make a "significant contribution to strengthening the defense capabilities of Norway and NATO," the statement read.
Norwegian Defense Minister Bjoern Arild Gram said that the current security policy situation requires for the country to "be able to defend the entire NATO territory."