Europe dominates Kongsberg’s expanding order book

Norway continues to underpin Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace (KDA), with domestic programmes and a strong supplier base anchoring its defence business.

The group's 2025 annual report, published today, indicates that the growth driving the company’s expanding order book is increasingly coming from outside its home market. 

Earlier disclosures alongside the fourth-quarter results had already pointed to this trajectory, as reported by Defence Nordic.

Kongsberg's order backlog has risen sharply in recent years, increasing from around NOK 43 billion in 2022 to more than NOK 125 billion in 2025. The steepest gains were recorded in 2023 and 2024, as demand accelerated across multiple export markets. 

As indicated by the graph below Defence & Aerospace has been the one main driver of the growth in order value.

The composition of demand has also shifted.

Around 75 percent of KDA’s order backlog is now linked to European customers, a detail specified in the 2025 annual report, reinforcing earlier indications that recent order intake has been driven by a broader regional market rather than primarily by Nordic demand.

This shift is closely tied to rising defence spending across Europe, as NATO members increase investment in air defence, missile systems and maritime capabilities - areas where KDA holds established positions.

For Kongsberg, this has translated into a broader customer base and larger, longer-term contracts across the continent.

Norway, however, remains central to the company’s structure. Domestic programmes continue to provide a stable foundation for development and production, while sustained spending on Norwegian suppliers anchors its industrial footprint.

The shift is therefore not about Norway becoming less important, but about where incremental growth is originating.

While the home market continues to act as KDA’s anchor, the order book indicates that the company’s next phase of expansion will be shaped increasingly by demand across Europe.