Cold Response 22 : Huge NATO Drills Aim to Defend Norway

On 10 March 2022,NATO Exercise Cold Response 22 (CORE 22) began,the largest cold weather operations drills in 30 years.About 200 aircraft,20 warships and 35,000 troops from 28 countries,including US Air Force B-52H Stratofortress bombers in Europe on a Bomber Task Force mission,will participate.The exercise integrates Land,Sea and Air assets which will execute Air-Land and Air-Sea combat manoeuvres,with Allied fighter aircraft practising bomber escort procedures,highlighting the Alliance's dynamic capabilities.Traversing vast wilderness,Allies and Partners will conduct live-fire drills and leap into freezing lakes,honing arctic warfighting skills to ensure our armed forces can respond to any threat or crisis in the extreme and rugged arctic environment of Norway,which ranges from fjords to seas and mountains.Norway has a 195.7 kilometer/121.6 mile land border,and a 23.2 kilometer/14.4 mile sea border,with Russia. Said US Air Force General Jeff Harrigian,Commander,Allied Air Command: Integrating and training with our Allies and Partners allows us to exercise our combined capabilities while deterring aggression against NATO.* The exercise scenario will show how a unified mutilateral force would defend Norway and Europe's Northern Flank from a modern adversary.Some 900 Royal Marines will spearhead UK involvement from Royal Navy assault ship HMS Albion.UK Merlin and Wildcat helicopters will patrol the skies,supporting commando operations under Brigadier Rich Cantrill alongside a wide range of warplanes from across NATO,including F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighters.The drills,which run through 10 April,will prepare for any contingency while providing the chance to learn how to work together.Besides the UK,other particiapnts include Finland,France,Germany,Italy,the Netherlands,Norway,Sweden and the USA.The flotilla of NATO warships is led by the UK aircraft carrier HMS Prince of Wales and includes a British attack submarine,the name of which is classified.Also in the flotilla is the US Navy Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer USS Roosevelt (DDG 80);Royal Navy frigates HMS Richmond and HMS Northumberland;and Royal Navy destroyer HMS Defender.In the course of the exercise,UK commandos will raid positions along the coast to prepare the beachhead for larger amphibious forces.* The biannual drills were planned eight months before Russia's invasion of Ukraine on 24 February.*