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Have not mapped drone activity during Cold Response
During the Cold Response exercise in March, the police received many reports of drone sightings.
They accounted for 40 percent of suspicious incidents that, according to Lars Lindén, head of the intelligence and prevention section at the Tromsø police district, “are being investigated in light of the current security situation during Cold Response.”
This was reported by the National Defence Magazine.
The incidents concern both drones that are participating in the exercise and hostile drones that are engaged in information gathering for a foreign state.
The National Defence Magazine has been in contact with the police and the Norwegian Armed Forces following the exercise to find out what drone sightings they have mapped, in addition to the use of drones in the exercise itself.
However, neither the Norwegian Armed Forces nor the police have made any attempt to determine whether any of the sightings may actually be of a suspicious nature.
Arctic military leaders met in Iceland
This year's physical edition of the Arctic Security Forces Roundtable (ASFR) was held in Iceland at the end of March.
The forum – co-chaired by Norway and the US European Command – brings together senior military leaders from the seven allied Arctic states, as well as from the observer states of France, the UK, Germany, and the Netherlands.
Also present were representatives of the US Northern Command and NATO JFC Norfolk, which has now been granted permanent observer status in ASFR.
The military leaders exchanged views on security challenges in the Arctic, with a focus on building shared situational awareness and coordinated approaches to deterrence and defense in the region. The NATO Arctic Sentry initiative was highlighted in this context.
They also visited Keflavík Air Station and gained insight into Iceland's defense-related roles and responsibilities. Last year's conference took place in Kirkenes, Northern Norway.
Canada and Denmark deepen defense ties
Canada and Denmark have signed a defense cooperation agreement on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference.
The agreement follows the Trump Administration's threats to take over Canada and was signed by Canadian Defense Minister David McGuinty and Danish Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen, together with his Greenlandic and Faroese counterparts, Vivian Motzfeldt and Sirið Stenberg.
"Canada is an Arctic nation — and we will defend the North," McGuinty said in a statement after signing the agreement.
The Danish Ministry of Defense reports that the agreement will strengthen defense cooperation between the two countries in a number og areas, including defense innovation, technology, capacity building, and training, exercise and education.
Denmark provides F-35 fighter jets to NATO s Arctic Sentry
NATO has launched the mission to strengthen its presence in the Arctic, part of an effort to defuse tensions within the alliance prompted by the U.S. president's push to acquire Greenland from Denmark.
"Our F-35 contribution strengthens the overall presence in the region and underscores Denmark's role as an active ally in the Arctic and North Atlantic," Denmarks minister of defense, Trouls Lund Poulsen said in a statement.
Poulsen also expects the United States to contribute to the NATO mission, he told reporters ahead of the Munich Security Conference.