Norway, Finland, and Sweden Increase Focus on the High North as Joint Operational Area Norway, Finland, and Sweden has entered into an updated defense cooperation agreement with a focus on the High North. "With this update, we can coordinate military operations as if they are NATO members," says the Norwegian Minister of Defense.
The US Continues Training in Northern Norway: Large Aircraft Carrier Arrives in Tromsø The allied winter training continues in Northern Norway with forces from the US Marine Corps. "For Norway, this is a very important allied unit", says Lieutenant General Yngve Odlo, Chief of the Norwegian Joint Headquarters.
New British Arctic Strategy: Deploying Submarine-Hunting Aircrafts to the Arctic Great Britain sends jets with specialized surveillance technology to the Arctic as part of Britain’s new Arctic strategy. The Norwegian Defense Minister welcomes increased British presence.
Minor Adjustments to Cold Response, says Chief of NJHQ The military exercise Cold Response 2022 commences in just a few days. The Chief of the Norwegian Joint Headquarters (NJHQ) stresses that the exercise is defensive and says communication channels with Russia’s Northern Fleet are used to take up unwanted incidents.
Russia Says No to Observing NATO Exercise Russia was invited to attend as an observer at the NATO exercise Cold Response 2022, however, the country now has declined.
High North Expert: “The Norwegian-Russian Border Relationship will not Necessarily be Hard Hit” “I do not believe that what is happening in Ukraine right now will necessarily have a strong direct effect on the border relationship between Norway and Russia”, says High North Researcher Rasmus Gjedssø Bertelsen. At the same time, he points out that in a worst-case scenario, the conflict potential in the High North is large.
Open Norwegian-Russian Dialogue about Cold Response 2022 The Russian Northern Fleet was during a video conference last week informed by the Norwegian Armed Forces about the upcoming large-scale winter exercise Cold Response 2022. The meeting happened following a Norwegian initiative, based on a desire about transparent dialogue and preventing potential misunderstandings.
Cold Response 2022: 35,000 Soldiers from 26 Countries in Northern Military Exercise “This will be the largest Norwegian-led exercise conducted in Norway since the 1980s”, says Spokesperson at the Norwegian Joint Operations Headquarters Preben Aursand. The majority of activities will take place in Northern Norway.
The US and Norwegian Armies Plan for More Arctic Training In an exclusive interview with High North News in the military hub of Bardufoss, Northern Norway, US Major General Pete Andrysiak talks about the ongoing US interest in collaboration with the Norwegian Army.
Cold Response 2020 Cancelled NATO’s winter exercise Cold Response 2020 was cancelled today, Lieutenant General Rune Jakobsen said at a press conference.
Finland Withdraws from Cold Response 2020 Finland is now withdrawing from the Cold Response exercise due to the corona virus situation in Norway. The country was to participate with 400 soldiers in the exercise.
Cold Response 2020 Exercise is On NATO’s winter exercise Cold Response 2020 is on as of this week. The exercise takes place from Bodø to Porsangmoen between 2-18 March. According to the Norwegian armed forces, the exercise is to secure NATO’s ability to conduct multi-national joint operations in demanding winter conditions.
Russia to Test Missiles Off the North Norwegian Coast This Week The Head of the Norwegian Military Intelligence Services, Morten Haga Lunde, argues that the exercise should be considered a reaction against Norwegian authorities and as part of the Russian objections against Norway’s involvement with NATO.
