David Lammy in Norway: "Thank You for Keeping the Sea Safe and The Lights Lit" Bodø (High North News): "The UK’s relationship with Norway as a key ally in the defense of NATO’s northern flank has never been more important," UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy said when visiting the Norwegian Arctic on Wednesday. "The UK is our most important ally," said his Norwegian counterpart, Espen Barth Eide.
American-Led Maritime Live-Fire Exercise in the Works off Andøya, Northern Norway In May, naval vessels from Norway and several NATO allies will practice missile defense in North Norwegian waters. The exercise, called Formidable Shield, will be led by the US Sixth Fleet.
Large Army and Navy Exercises in the Nordic Region This Late Fall In these times, this fall's most extensive exercises for land and naval forces are being carried out in Northern Norway, Eastern Finland, and the Gulf of Finland.
New American Submarine Docking in Tromsø On Friday, a new American submarine arrived at Grøtsund port just outside Tromsø. This is the fifth Allied submarine docking at the port this year.
Norwegian Army Practicing Sharpshooting in the High North This week, the Norwegian Army’s sharpshooting exercise Thunderbolt takes place in Finnmark, Norway. Similar exercise activity was recently conducted in Troms with British participation.
Joint Expeditionary Force Countries Practiced Defense-Political Crisis Management This week, ministers from the JEF states met in Norway to practice how to interact in a crisis situation. “We must be fully ready to act swiftly in case of a crisis or threat against our countries”, says the Danish Minister of Defense.
Danish Missile Test Launch in the Night Before Thursday, New Allied Marine Exercise in the North Coming Up In the night leading up to Thursday, the Danish frigate Niels Juel tested its new air defense missile in a training area off the coast of Andøya Island in Northern Norway, the Danish defense reports. Next week, this vessel along with other allied frigates are to exercise in the North.
First British Nuclear Submarine Docking in Tromsø The British Navy’s nuclear submarine HMS Ambush is currently docked at Grøtsund port just outside Tromsø, after having operated in Norwegian waters for the past month. The Navy claims it wants to familiarize itself with Norwegian facilities for submarines in the Arctic.
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.
Sweden and Great Britian Reinforce Defense Cooperation “The High North is an area that is becoming increasingly important for Great Britain”, said British Defense Minister Ben Wallace when meeting with his Swedish counterpart Peter Hultqvist in Sweden before the weekend.
Norway Objects to the EU’s Granting Cod Quotas in the Svalbard Zone “Norway holds the exclusive right to regulate fisheries in the fisheries protection zone”, says Norwegian Fisheries Minister Odd Emil Ingebrigtsen. The EU has granted itself a quota of 28,431 tons of cod in the fish protection zone around Svalbard. That is some 10,000 tons more than what Norway has granted the EU.
Russia Wants to Resume Meetings Between Arctic Defense Chiefs “Russia supports resuming the annual meetings of the Chiefs of the Armed Forces in the Arctic states in order to prevent deterioration of the military policy situation in the Arctic”, says Russian Ambassador-at-Large for the Arctic Nikolay Korchunov.
Researcher Argues Norwegian Participation in Barents Sea Military Exercise was Unfortunate “I fear that the strategic image and overall thinking that should form the basis has neither been understood nor is something the government actually reflects deeply on”, says Commander and PhD Candidate Tor Ivar Strømmen.
International Exercise in the Barents Sea: “Norway Wants to Assert Its Defense Capacity in the Arctic” Vessels from the British navy will lead a multinational maritime operation north of the Arctic Circle. “It is important for Norway to demonstrate that it is not only the prolonged arm of the USA”, says Julie Wilhelmsen of NUPI, the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs.
Trump, Russia and China All Represent New Threats to Canada Both concrete external threats and more diffuse internal trends threaten Canadian security, expert says.
