ANKARA

Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Denmark have signed a letter of intent to create a unified Nordic air defense aimed at countering the rising threat they see from Russia, the nations have announced.

“The declaration of intent strengthens Nordic cooperation and paves the way for further strengthening of the Nordic air forces,” the four northern European countries said Friday in a joint statement.

“The ultimate goal is to be able to operate seamlessly together as one force by developing a Nordic concept for joint air operations based on already-known NATO methodology,” it added.

Since Moscow launched the Ukraine war 13 months ago, European nations have stepped up their defense posture, especially countries near Russia.

This includes NATO members Norway and Denmark, and non-members Finland and Sweden, which reversed decades of policy in now seeking to join NATO.