Operational Readiness:US Bombers to Norway

On 3 February 2021,an advance team of US Airmen arrived at Orland Air Base near Trondheim, Norway.They are preparing for the deployment of four B-1B Lancer strategic bombers from Dyess Air Force Base,Texas.Their scheduled missions will last for a limited time, according to US Strategic Command.For operational security reasons, the length of the deployment and details of the missions are being withheld.About 200 Airmen are being deployed to the air base in a remote part of Central Norway.Beginning in the next few weeks,it will be the first ever deployment of US bombers to Norway.* Orland Air Base is critical for NATO, having massive airspace and ranges.Located on the west coast,it is primarily accessed by ferry.It hosts both the NATO Air Meet and Nordic Air Meet.Based at Orland are 12 F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighters,as well as F-16 Fighting Falcons and Sea King helicopters. Said LTC Erik Guldvog, executive officer and chief of staff of Norway's 132nd Air Wing: F-35s will be the most important combat element within the Norwegian defence agencies.Not just the Air Force.It will be the most potent offensive capability in Norway.* Northern Norway borders on Russia's highly strategic Kola Peninsula, where the Russian Navy's Northern Fleet is based at Severomorsk.Indeed,in 2017 Russian fighter aircraft simulated attacks on Norwegian targets. In 2018, The Barents Observer ascertained from satellite photos that the Russian Navy had a huge construction effort underway, building up to 60 bunkers for weapons storage on the Kola.It is believed that both conventional and nuclear weapons, including ballistic missiles for the submarine base at Gadzhiyevo,are being stored in the concrete structures.Indeed, the Kalibr hypersonic cruise missiles are also likely among the long-range high precision armaments in safekeeping in the bunkers at Okolnaya Bay near Severomorsk and Gadzhiyevo 15 kilometers to the west. The weapons are meant to bolster Russian military power and the bastion defence in the Barents and Norwegian Seas.Under its Bastion Defence doctrine,Russia would deny access by enemy naval forces to the immediate neighbourhood of its naval bases on the Kola Peninsula. Russia wants to ensure the survival and mobility of its strategic ballistic missile submarines with layered defences of diverse capabilities.In the event of an escalating conflict scenario,Russia could declare an Anti-Access/Area Denial zone encompassing Norway's coasts on the Barents and Norwegian Seas.It could then launch hypersonic cruise missiles for precision attacks on naval vessels in the Norwegian Sea or on military bases in Northern Norway from the Kola.* According to GEN Jeff Harrigian, Commander U.S. Air Forces in Europe and U.S. Air Forces Africa: Our US and NATO Allied Air Command operations in the High North and Arctic region are absolutely critical to ensuring the regipn remains stable and secure amidst emerging competition.We can't go it alone- it's our deep alliances and enduring partnerships like that with our ally Norway that are key to our combined, and continued,success.*