In a major expansion of Nordic-Baltic defense integration, Norway and Lithuania have signed a government-to-government Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to cooperate on Norway’s ambitious standardised vessel project. Signed on July 8, 2026, on the sidelines of the NATO Summit, the agreement formally marks Lithuania’s entry into the program as its first official international partner.
Under the terms of the MoU, Lithuania has designated the Norwegian-developed modular platforms as its preferred option for replacing legacy assets in its naval fleet after 2030. The Baltic nation is initially planning the procurement of up to four modular multi-role vessels, complete with associated mission-specific payload packages.
“I am pleased to see that the cooperation and close ties between our two countries continue to grow stronger,” said Norwegian Minister of Defence Tore O. Sandvik. “Norway has a goal of getting allied nations to join the project. If several countries use the same vessel type, it will contribute to lower costs and better interoperability, not only during operations but also within training, logistics, and maintenance.”
A Growing “International Class” of Allied Vessels
The agreement marks a pivotal expansion of a program that took its first major industrialized step in March 2026, when the Norwegian Defence Materiel Agency (NDMA) awarded a concept and design development contract to a national consortium consisting of Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace and Salt Ship Design.
Norway’s domestic requirement is substantial: the Royal Norwegian Navy plans to acquire up to 28 standardised vessels across two primary baselines—ocean-going and coastal platforms. These modern ships are designed to replace more than ten disparate legacy vessel classes currently serving both the Navy and the Coast Guard, greatly simplifying fleet logistics and reducing life-cycle overhead.
However, the framework was always intended to underpin an “international class” of vessels. Crucially, Lithuania isn’t the only ally eyeing the platform. The Norwegian government has explicitly confirmed that potential deliveries to the United Kingdom are being factored into the project’s industrial scaling.
According to official statements, future British involvement is directly tied to broader bilateral defense trade: “The deliveries of standardised vessels to the United Kingdom are part of the strategic agreement in connection with the Norwegian frigate procurement.”
Analysts suggest the Royal Navy could leverage the flexible, modular platforms to fulfill outstanding requirements for Multi-Role Ocean Surveillance (MROS) assets, mine warfare motherships, or next-generation Offshore Patrol Vessels (OPVs).
Commercial Standards, Military Flexibility
The design philosophy guiding the Kongsberg and Salt Ship Design team relies on the principle of being “as civilian as possible, as military as necessary.” By leveraging commercially available technologies alongside civilian building standards, the program aims to remain highly cost-effective while offering extensive modular flexibility. This plug-and-play framework allows allied partners like Lithuania—and potentially the UK—to customize the common hulls with specialized containerized systems tailored to their specific regional threats.
The inclusion of international partners is expected to yield substantial economies of scale. According to the NDMA, the project is moving at an aggressive pace. The consortium is scheduled to finalize the technical requirements specification and reference design by the end of 2026. This blueprint will be accessible to all qualified shipyards ahead of a comprehensive shipbuilding competition slated to run from late 2026 through the spring of 2027.
With construction contracts expected to be finalized later in 2027, the first standardized vessel is on track for delivery to the Royal Norwegian Navy in 2030, blazing a trail for its Baltic and North Sea allies to follow.
