By Nora Buli and Terje Solsvik

OSLO (Reuters) -The Norwegian navy plans to order a fleet of British-made frigates to boost the country’s maritime defense, Norway’s government said on Sunday.

Germany, France, Britain and the United States had offered rival frigate designs in competition for what is expected to be NATO-member Norway’s largest military procurement to date.

“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.

British officials, seeking economies of scale for their own navy and to boost Scotland’s shipyard industry, had heavily promoted the BAE Systems’ frigates, known as the T-26 City-class.

Stoere said the government sought to answer two questions in its selection pro

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