A changing security landscape demands new approaches
Defense capability development is one of the defining challenges of our time. Geopolitical uncertainty, rapid technological change, and rising demands on resilience are reshaping how defense systems, buildings and supporting environments are developed and sustained across digital, physical and operational domains.
Across Europe and the Nordics, Armed Forces need to strengthen territorial defense faster, while operating within constrained industrial capacity and increasingly complex ecosystems.
The evolving landscape of defense infrastructure
Johan Holmberg, AFRY’s Head of Defense for Public & Commercial Places Sweden, shares his view on what is changing, where the risks lie, and what clients now need from projects and partners.
Complexity as the operating baseline
Modern defense programs must balance urgency with long-term responsibility. Legacy platforms coexist with new technologies, supply chains remain under pressure, and requirements continue to evolve with the threat landscape. Decisions made early influence operational capability, lifecycle cost and resilience over time, both for systems and for the facilities and buildings that support them.
Addressing this requires system-level thinking, strong governance, and coordinated engineering capabilities, together with the ability to operate in sensitive and highly regulated environments.
Scaling capability through cross-domain expertise
Engineering capacity is a key constraint. As demand grows, scaling competence without compromising quality becomes critical.
Experience from sectors such as automotive, energy and infrastructure enables the use of advanced engineering methods, digital toolchains and more industrialized ways of working in a defense context, when combined with the right domain insight and security awareness. This supports faster development, improved integration, and reduced risk.
A lifecycle perspective
Defense capability is built and sustained over time. From early analysis and system design of systems, buildings, facilities and critical infrastructure, to integration, operation and long-term sustainment, each phase depends on coordinated engineering and informed decision-making.
Independent partners with an end-to-end perspective can increase transparency across complex supplier landscapes, manage technical risk and help ensure systems remain relevant as requirements evolve.
Across land, maritime, air, cyber and space, as well as the environments where these domains meet, a lifecycle approach supports resilient and adaptable defense systems.
Nordic experience, grounded in responsibility
Trust is fundamental in the defense domain and built through long-term collaboration, strong governance, and clear ethical frameworks.
In the Nordics, decades of cooperation with defense authorities and industry have shaped an approach based on independence, integrity, and accountability. Responsible engineering is about understanding not only what can be done, but what should be done, ensuring compliance, transparency, and long-term resilience.
Unlocking defense capabilities
As defense investments increase, expectations on engineering partners are shifting from individual deliveries to long-term capability enablement.
Advanced engineering expertise, applied with independence and a Nordic perspective, will continue to play a key role in strengthening defense capabilities over time.
To explore how engineering expertise can support your defense capability development, connect with AFRY’s experts.
Selected projects
- Ørland Main Air Station, Norway
- High-security facilities – Fortifikationsverket, Sweden
- Defense infrastructure and stations upgrades, NDEA, Norway
AFRY contributed its airport development expertise to the planning and construction of Ørland Main Air Station for the Norwegian Defence Estates Agency (NDEA).
The base is Norway’s main fighter aircraft base and plays a central role in the Armed Forces’ day-to-day operations.
Major new-build project for the Air Defence Regiment in Sweden.
Fortifikationsverket in Sweden appointed AFRY as lead design consultant for a new facility with training premises and exercise areas for the Air Defence Regiment (Lv 6) in Halmstad.
The project is security classified and supports the Swedish Armed Forces’ planned growth.
The Norwegian Defence Estates Agency (NDEA) is upgrading the Norwegian Armed Forces’ infrastructure and stations across Norway.
AFRY has as the sole supplier been awarded the framework agreement for construction management.
Why AFRY
Our strength combines deep technical knowledge with a broad strategic view. That means we can support both immediate needs and long-term capability development across cyber security, communications, space, and engineering.
We also contribute through thought leadership and expert insight. By combining technical depth with system-level understanding and our expertise in designing fortified facilities and critical infrastructure, we help shape the future of Nordic defense in a responsible and grounded way.
