Oslo Reuters —

Norway said on Sunday it had chosen Britain as its strategic partner for the acquisition of new frigates in its biggest ever military investment, in a deal worth some 10 billion pounds ($13.51 billion) to boost the Nordic country’s maritime defense.

Germany, France, Britain and the United States had offered rival frigate designs in competition. “The frigates are an essential part of our defense because they are key to defend our sovereignty,” Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere told a press conference.

Norway is NATO’s monitor for the vast 2 million square kilometers (772,000 square miles) area of the North Atlantic used by the Russian northern fleet ’s nuclear submarines.

A key mission for the frigates will be to monitor Russian submarines, whose base is on the Kol

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