politics
Cold Response 2026:
Over 30,000 From 14 Nations Exercise Defending the Northern Nordic Region
This winter’s major military exercise in the North has officially begun. While the main activity takes place in Northern Norway, Cold Response also includes operations in Northern Finland and across the Nordics. High North News provides an overview of the exercise.
Published
The main part of the Norwegian-led exercise Cold Response takes place from the 9th to the 19th of March.
In total, around 32,000 soldiers from 14 allied nations are practicing defense of NATO's northern flank at land, at sea, and in the air.
The participating countries are Norway, Finland, Sweden, Denmark, the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, the Netherlands, France, Italy, Canada, Spain, Turkey, and Belgium. Various NATO units are also involved.
The land-based part of the exercise is conducted in Northern Norway (Nordland, Troms and Western Finnmark), with affiliated land operations in Northern Finland (Lapland).
At sea, the activity takes place in the maritime areas off the coast of Norway. In addition, the exercise involves air operations over all the Nordic countries.
Military defense and total defense
The overall purpose of Cold Response is to contribute to deterrence, strengthen national and allied defense capabilities, and reassure the population, according to the Norwegian Armed Forces.
Key aspects of the exercise include training on allied reception and logistics, as well as conducting joint operations in an Arctic winter environment, focusing on enhancing interoperability among allied forces.
Also central is the exercising of military-civil cooperation, as part of the Norwegian Total Defense Year 2026.
"Cold Response showcases that Norway and allies can operate together under demanding conditions, while strengthening the ability to defend NATO's northern flank. The exercise provides the total defense with training in preparedness and crisis management," stated Norwegian Minister of Defense, Tore O. Sandvik (Labor), last week.
"We must deter Russia from threatening our own and our allies' security. At the same time, we will, within the framework of NATO, contribute to reducing the risk of conflict and misunderstandings," said Norway’s Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide (Labor) in a recent foreign policy adress to the Norwegian parliament.
Overall context
The world is in rapid, complex change. Consequently, the current security policy situation is characterised by increased tension and unpredictability.
February marked four years since Putin's Russia started full-scale warfare against Ukraine, which continues with full force. And recently, a new major regional war broke out in the Middle East after Trump's USA and Israel attacked Iran, which responded with counterattacks.
Still fresh in one’s mind is also the Trump Administration's attempts to threaten its way into control of Greenland in the Kingdom of Denmark. To mention one of many issues.
In the big picture, great powers are engaging in more blatant use of power – in violation of the UN Charter and modern international law. At the same time, middle powers and other states are mobilising their own capabilities and joining forces.
Within the framework of Nato, central defense cooperation continues despite highly demanding political issues. This applies not least to cooperation at the military level, which is exercised and further developed in practice during Cold Response.
Development
Now, all the Nordic countries are not only part of NATO, but also part of the alliance’s regional plan North-West and officially gathered under NATO's Joint Force Command Norfolk in Virginia, USA.
These common denominators are of great significance for the further development of not only transatlantic but also Nordic and European defense cooperation, which concretizes and complements NATO's Article 5.
Central during Cold Response is precisely testing and additional improvement of the regional plan, not least in a northern Nordic context.
As we'll see, the exercise also offers important training for NATO's new regional headquarters for land operations (Mikkeli, Finland) and air operations (Bodø, Northern Norway), which support JFC Norfolk.
"From Cold Response, we will take with us important experiences into the development of the NATO headquarters and further development of the regional plans, which must always be viewed with fresh eyes in a dynamic political situation," says Command Sergeant Major Hanne Olafsen, spokesperson at the Norwegian Joint Headquarters (NJHQ) to High North News.
Arctic Sentry
In a circumpolar Arctic context, Cold Response is also a natural part of the new NATO initiative 'Arctic Sentry,' formally launched by the alliance in February.
The initiative stems from long-term efforts among the Arctic NATO countries to develop a joint allied approach to presence and enhanced security in the Arctic, with Norway playing a central role.
Over the past year, these efforts have in particular revolved around moving the Trump administration’s interest in Greenland into a track characterized by broadly anchored cooperation, with respect for international law.
Arctic Sentry is led by JFC Norfolk and involves enhanced coordination and visibility of allied activities across the entire Arctic region. Among these are also the ongoing Danish-led exercise activity Arctic Endurance in and around Greenland.
Leadership of operational activities
The concrete exercise activity during Cold Response on the Norwegian side is led by the Norwegian Joint Headquarters (NJHQ) at Reitan, Northern Norway, which coordinates with the Finnish side and JFC Norfolk.
More specifically, an operational headquarters for the exercise is established at Reitan, led by the NJHQ Chief, Vice Admiral Rune Andersen, with significant American and other allied presence. Therefore, it is referred to as a Norwegian-US headquarters on the Norwegian Armed Forces' website.
This is outlined by Lieutenant Colonel Bjørnar Aas, Process Manager at the NJHQ's unit for exercise and training, in an email to High North News.
"There is significant American participation at the headquarters, primarily from the II Marine Expeditionary Force in the US Marine Corps. In addition, many other allied nations also participate at the headquarters with so-called liaison officers, which is natural and the way this is usually done," explained Aas, who has been at the forefront of planning Cold Response on behalf of the NJHQ.
In the field and virtually
The live exercise involves composite operations through which military resources are coordinated across the domains of land, sea, air, cyberspace, and space.
In parallel, a large-scale simulation is conducted, making the exercise more realistic and complex for the participating headquarters.
Out in the field on the Norwegian side, seven allied countries in particular are contributing with large troops, according to Aas.
"The nations with the most extensive participation in the exercise in Norway are the US, the UK, the Netherlands, Germany, France and Italy. In addition, Turkey contributes significantly to the maritime part."
Norway has recently entered into binding partnership agreements with the UK and Germany on security and defense cooperation, and is also in dialogue with France about a similar agreement.
US participation
As mentioned, American forces are participating in Cold Response both in Norway and Finland.
In February, the US redirected air forces that were scheduled to participate in the exercise to its military buildup in the Middle East vis-à-vis Iran, as reported by Fremover.
The NJHQ process manager provided an update on the American participation to HNN:
"Just under 4,000 personell from the American side will participate in the exercise. There are no major changes in the composition of forces compared to what has been planned, but as already mentioned, the US has withdrawn its F-35 fighters that were supposed be deployed at Evenes Air Station [in Nordland, Northern Norway, ed. note]," wrote Aas and continued:
"However, a solid American F-35 detachment from the US will come to Ørland Main Air Station during the exercise. Otherwise, the main contingent from the US consists of land units operating from inner Troms. These primarily come from the US Marine Corps."
On the Finnish side
"NATO's presence in the north sends a message of commitment from member states to defend regional peace and security, including in Finland," stated the Finnish Defense Forces.
The multinational force to exercise in Lapland, Northern Finland, is led by NATO's new Multi-Corps Land Component Command (MCLCC-NW), reinforced by the alliance’s personnel.
Approximately 3,500 Finnish soldiers are supplemented by around 4,000 soldiers mainly from Sweden, but also the US, the UK, France, and Italy.
The land part of the exercise mainly takes places at the Rovajärvi firing and exercise range near Rovaniemi, where an operational headquarters is established with participation from the NJHQ, among others. The forces will also move across Northern Finland.
The army live exercise phase in Lapland is led by the Commander of the Finnish Jaeger Brigade, Colonel Marko Kivelä, whom HNN met last fall.
"For us, this is the most important exercise of the year also from the perspective of logistics and host nation support. Interoperability between us and the forces participating in the exercise is already good, but no combat is possible until we have got the forces successfully to the area. Exercises in which we get to practise how to transport forces safely and seamlessly in winter conditions are therefore very important," Kivelä emphasized last Wednesday.
Furthermore, Sweden is leading the establishment of an NATO Forward Land Force (FLF) in Finland, which will be located in Rovaniemi and Södankyla, hosted by the Jaeger Brigade. The UK, France, Italy, and the Nordic countries of Norway, Denmark, and Iceland have announced that they will contribute to the development.
Air operations
The land forces exercising in Rovajärvi are supported by F/A-18 Hornet fighters from the Finnish Lapland and Karelia air wings.
“By operating together, we can improve both our own capability and that of the alliance. We have shared plans, and this exercise is concrete evidence of our strong capability and willingness to defend our region together,” said Colonel Vesa Mäntylä, Deputy Chief of Staff, Air Force Command Finland.
Overall, the Finnish fighters will operate in the airspace over the northern parts of Finland, Norway, and Sweden. On the Finnish side, flight activity will focus on the area between Rovaniemi, Sodankylä, Utsjoki, and Kilpisjärvi.
As mentioned at the outset, Cold Response air operations encompass all the Nordics, entailing a training opportunity for NATO's newly established Combined Air Operations Center (CAOC) in Bodø.
Transparency and risk reduction
To demonstrate transparency and reduce the risk of misunderstandings, Norway, as the exercise leader, has shared general information about Cold Response with all member states in the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), including Russia.
This is in line with the Vienna Document, an agreement between OSCE states on confidence- and security-building measures in the military field.
Norway has also, as an additional confidence-building measure, invited Bosnia-Herzegovina, Georgia, Moldova, and Serbia to voluntarily observe the exercise, according to the Norwegian delegation to the OSCE.
The NJHQ also has an open direct line to the Russian Northern Fleet.
