NATO's High North:U.S. Arctic Strategy 2024 - Part 1

According to a prefatory Memorandum by U.S. Secretary of Defense General Lloyd F. Austin III,U.S. Army ret.:The United States is an Arctic nation,and the region is critical to the defense of our Homeland,the protection of U.S. national sovereignty,and our defense treaty commitments...Major geopolitical changes are driving the need for this new strategic approach to the Arctic,including Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine,the accession of Finland and Sweden into the NATO Alliance,increasing collaboration between the People's Republic of China (PRC) and Russia,and the accelerating impact of climate change.This increasingly accessible region is becoming a venue for strategic competition,and the United States must stand ready to meet the challenge alongside Allies and Partners.This new DOD strategy directs the Department to enhance its Arctic capabilities,deepen engagement with Allies and Partners,and exercise our forces to build readiness for operations at high latititudes...This strategy represents prudent and measured efforts to protetct U.S. interests in the face of new challenges and an evolving security environment.*In the body of U.S. Arctic Strategy 2024,it notes:The National Defense Strategy (2022) directs that activities in the Arctic will be calibrated to reflect a "monitor-and-respond" approach that is underpinned by robust intelligence collection capabilities,security cooperation with our regional Allies and Partners,and the deterrent value of the DOD'S ability to deploy the Joint Force at the time and place of our choosing...This strategy will strengthen the ability of the United States to build integrated deterrence and effectively manage risk to U.S. interests in the Arctic Region by enhancing our domain awareness and Arctic capabilities;engaging with Allies,Partners and key stakeholders;and exercising tailored presence...The North American Arctic Region comprises the northern approaches to the homeland and includes sovereign U.S. territiory in Alaska-home to significant U.S. defense infrastructure (Eielson Air Force Base;Fort Greely;Fort Wainwright;Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson;Clear Space Force Station),and the sovereign territory of NATO Allies including Canada and the Kingdom of Denmark's autonomous territory of Greenland.Vital for homeland defense,the North American Arctic Region hosts aerospace warning,aerospace control and maritime warning capabilities for the binational U.S.-Canada North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD).The North American Arctic Region is also integrated to the execution of Indo-Pacific operations,as the Northern Flank for projecting force from the U.S. homeland to that region.*Geographically,the European Arctic Region comprises the Arctic territory of NATO Allies Finland,Iceland,Norway and Sweden,as well as Russia's Kola Penninsula.Collaboration in this region between Unified Combatant Commands (CCMDs-U.S. European Command,U.S. Northern Command and U.S. Indo-Pacific Command) and Arctic Allies is critical to the collective defense of NATO Allies and to U.S. homeland defense.The accession of new NATO Allies and the strengthening of the NATO Alliance opens strategic opportunities and supports critical objectives in the National Strategy for the Arctic Region (NSAR 2022).The Arctic serves as an avenue for power projection between North America and Europe.The Arctic includes multiple strategically significant maritime chokepoints.Reduction in sea ice due to climate change means chokepoints such as the Bering Sea between Alaska and Russia (you can see Russia from Alaska) and Russia and the Barents Sea north of Norway,are becoming more navigable and more economically and miltarily significant.

US Air Force, NATO. B-2 Spirit strategic stealth bombers on alert in Iceland

Securing the High North:Air Force Global Strike Command Sends B-2 Spirits to Iceland

On 13 August 2023,over 150 Airmen amd three B-2 Spirit strategic bombers out of Whiteman Air Force Base,Missouri arrived at Keflavik Air Base,Iceland.They will engage in Bomber Task Force missions,according to U.S. Air Forces in Europe amd Air Forces Africa.Across the globe,U.S. Strategic Command (STRATCOM) routinely orchestrates BTF operations to not only showcase the US commitment to collective defence,but also to seamlessly integrate with operations conducted by our Geographic Combatant Commands.This BTF initiative was designed to bolster U.S. European Command's (EUCOM) overarching security mandate across the European continent,while also affording aircrews the opportunity to acclimate themselves to the intracacies of joint and coalition operations in foreign locations.Said General James Hecker,commander of U.S. Air Forces in Europe,U.S. Air Forces Africa and NATO Allied Air Command:Each BTF mission underscores the prowess of our armed forces in navigating today's intricate and unpredictable global security terrain,with the focus on fostering stability,security,and freedom across Europe.In resolute unity,the US upholds our nation's commitment to foster peace and stability in Europe,unwaveringly collaborating with Allies and Partners to thwart challenges against the sovereignty of nations across the region.* The expeditionary bomb crew is led by Lt.Col. Andrew Kousgaard,commander of 393rd Expeditionary Bomb Squadron.Lt.Col. Kousgaard emphasised Dynamic Force Employment,a strategy that combines strategic unpredictability with operational adaptability:The B-2 bomber is arguably the most strategically significant airplane in the world,but that doesn't mean it's inflexible:dynamically deploying the bombers forward is a unique and important capability.*The BTF mission bolsters combat readiness,providing the US and NATO leaders with strategic options to assure,deter and defend against adversary aggression against the Alliance,throughout Europe and across the globe,bolstering our collective response to any global conflict.The current BTF missions will integrate operations with our Icelandic Allies and expert capabilities within the European region.The 393rd Expeditionary Bomb Squadron practises Agile Combat Employment (ACE),providing Airmen with the tools necessary to accomplish their mission in austere environments with lilited resources,ensuring the B-2 Spirit's mission of strategic deterrence,anytime and anywhere.Lt.Col. Kousgaard added that being able to:conduct operations out of anywhere and tactically unpredictable is really important to hold adversaries at risk and assure Allies that we're able to share in some national defence:Our host nation has been phenomenal and we're excited to continue our work here.*During their BTF missions,the B-2s will carry out real world surveillance and long range strike missions if necessary.* According to The War Zone blog,one of the B-2 Spirits flew from Iceland to Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson,Alaska on a mock strike mission,utilising its distributed and extremely long-range capabilties for bomber operations over the increasingly strategic Arctic Region.The B-2 flew first into the high north,deep into the Arctic Circle and close to the North Pole,The War Zone indicated.* Air Force Global Strike Command was stood up on 7 August 2009 to provide combatant commanders the forces needed to conduct strategic nuclear deterrence and global strike operations.They continue to adapt,innovate and modernise to always be prepared for emerging threats,such as Russia and China's forays into the Arctic Region with joint naval task forces and Russia's recent Arctic buildup on both old and new military bases.

USS San Juan (SSN 751) conducts brief stop off Iceland’s coast as Iceland implements new strategy for NATO

USS San Juan (SSN 751) conducts brief stop off Iceland’s coast: The Los Angeles-class fast-attack submarine USS San Juan (SSN 751) conducted a brief stop for supplies and personnel off Iceland’s west coast while operating in the High North, April 26, 2023.

B-2 Stealth Bomber Arrives at RAF Fairford accompanied by Bomber Task Force B-Roll in Iceland

Upholding bomber agile combat deployments: 110th EBS total force unit de...

B-2 Spirit Arrives at Keflavik Air Base, Iceland, 08/23/2021

NATO North Atlantic Drills Step Up Naval Acumen

Exercise Dynamic Mongoose 2020 is currently underway in waters off the Icelandic coast.The drills run from 29 June-10 July.Six NATO Allies are participating:
Canada, France, Germany, Norway, the UK and the US,with 5 warships;5 submarines; and 5 maritime patrol aircraft.Vessels engaged in the scenarios include the Royal Navy frigate HMS Westminster;US guided-missile​ destroyer USS Roosevelt; German Submarine U 36; and Norwegian frigate HNoMS Sverdrup. Maritime patrol aircraft involved are 2 ATL IIs from France;2 P-8A Poseidons from the US Navy; and a Royal Navy P-8A.The Icelandic Coast Guard can provide air traffic control and search and rescue as needed.*
The aim of DM 2020 is, according to VADM Keith Blount, Royal Navy, Commander,Allied Maritime Command:
To sharpen warfighting skills by focusing on high-end capabilities including Anti-Submarine Warfare.Dynamic Mongoose will ensure that we remain prepared for operations in peace, crisis and conflict.*
DM is an advanced ASW exercise.Overall, said RADM Andrew Burcher,USN, Commander, Submarines NATO:
The exercise is a unique opportunity to enhance naval forces' warfighting skills in all dimensions of Anti-Surface and Anti-Submarine Warfare in a multinational and multi-threat environment.*
The US Navy operates Patrol Squadron (VP) 16 out of Naval Air Station Keflavik, Iceland.It serves in the Northern European theatre.*

NATO's Trident Juncture 2018 at Full Force

The largest NATO exercise in recent memory is now fully engaged in overcoming wintry challenges in Northern and Central Norway.Trident Juncture 18 got underway with the US Marines doing preliminary training in Iceland in mid-October.This was followed by the Live Field Exercise beginning on 25 October and extending to 7 November.
The Marines have provided the biggest contingent from the US military at the drills.Landing in Iceland via the MV-22 Osprey tiltrotor aircraft and the CH-53E Super Stallion helicopter from the USS Iwo Jima (LHD 7) amphibious assault ship,dozens of Marines secured Keflavik Air Base on 17 October and set up a communications relay point before turning the base over to Icelandic National Police armed with automatic weapons.On 19 October,the Marines marched inland to a cold weather training site attired in watch caps,gaiters and snow/mud boots.
Altogether,more than 14,000 US troops from the Army,Navy,Marines and Air Force are participating in TJ 18.
On 29 October,the Marines from the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit went on to conduct an amphibious assault in the Landing Craft Air-Cushioned at Alvund,Norway.*
Operationally,the focus of the drills is qualifying the Very High Readiness Joint Task Force (VJTF) 2019 and testing the Alliance's follow-on forces.Norway is learning how to host these reinforcing Allied troops.
The importance of the Bundeswehr to NATO is being emphasised at the exercise.A brigade of German troops initiated TJ 18,and Germany is leading the VJTF 2019 with its 9th Armoured Demonstration Brigade,Munster (tanks).In all,some 8,000 German personnel will field 200 armoured vehicles and 20 Leopard 2 Combat Tanks in the drills.*
The 65 warships in TJ 18 are interacting with the aircraft carrier USS Harry 
S Truman (CVN 75).*
All 29 NATO Allies are involved in the drills,as are partner nations Sweden and Finland,whose airspace is being utilised.The scenario involves a NATO Ally invoking the Article V collective defence clause when an enemy attacks.The VJTF responds first and is then reinforced.NATO's land forces in Norway are being led by Canadian Forces LTGEN Christian Juneau.
NATO is testing its total defence concept at freezing point,conducting collective defence with all-domain warfighting just below the Arctic Circle,while dealing with such conditions as ice,mud,rain and snow.

Aircraft Carrier Rushed to Europe on Snap Deployment - big NATO exercise scenario revealed

The US Navy's aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman (CVN-75) and its Carrier Strike Group of a Guided Missile Cruiser,Guided Missile Destroyers and likely an Attack Submarine has been on a breakneck pace as of late.After a summer deployment that was abruptly halted in July after only three months,as opposed to the customary seven months,and a return to its Norfolk,Virginia homeport,the Truman was ordered right back to Europe and arrived in mid-September.The ship and its 6,000 crewmembers are to be a focal point of the massive NATO Exercise Trident Juncture 2018,which runs from 25 October to 7 November.Some 45,000 personnel from 29 NATO Allies,plus partner nations Finland and Sweden,will participate.*
The Truman's demanding schedule is part of the US Navy's new Dynamic Force Employment strategy.It means the warships and their crews must be on a more agile and unpredictable footing for crisis response in an era of renewed great power competition.As ADL Christopher Grady,commander,Fleet Forces Command,put it:
Let me be clear:all returning units are one hundred percent mission-capable and will remain in the sustainment phase of the Optimized Fleet Response Plan,which means they will sustain warfighting readiness and be ready to surge forward or redeploy when called upon.*
As Defense Secretary Jim Mattis told the US House of Representatives:
The way you do this is ensure that preparation for great power competition drives not simply a rotational schedule that allows me to tell you,three years from now,which aircraft carrier will be where in the world.*
According to US Navy ADL James G. Foggo III,commander,US Naval Forces Europe and Africa and all NATO naval forces:
Trident Juncture 18 is going to test our ability to plan and conduct a major collective defence operation .*
The drills will be held in Central and Eastern Norway;the contiguous Baltic Sea and North Atlantic Ocean;Iceland and the airspace of Finland and Sweden.The exercise scenario is that a NATO Ally has requested help under the Alliance's Article V collective defence clause.*
About 2,000 US Marines and Sailors with the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit and the roughly 700 Marines of the 3rd Battalion,8th Marines already on rotation in Norway will also play a major role in the scenario with the new anti-tank version of the Light Armored Vehicle (LAV-AT).These are armed with the TOW anti-tank missile.

Russia Steps Up Probing of Nordic-Baltic Region - four NATO Allies respond in one day

US Deputy Defense Secretary Robert Work took Russia to task for its recent behaviour in the Nordic-Baltic Region at a press conference following a meeting with eight delegates from the region on 7 October 2016.Finland said two Russian Su-27 Flanker fighter jets violated its airspace on separate occasions in the Gulf of Finland south of Porvoo that same day.Russian military aviation over the Baltic Sea has been intense,Finland noted;while Iceland had complained that two Russian Tu-160 Blackjack bombers flew too close to civilian airliners,flying between 1800-2700 meters/6,000-9,000 feet below a flight from Reykjavik,Iceland to Stockholm,Sweden.
There is absolutely no justification for it,Secretary Work said.Regardless of the timing,regardless of the circumstances,these are unsatisfactory manoeuvres that are unsafe and unprofessional.Hopefully we'll be able to see a moderation in them to avoid an accident or a tragic occurrence.Unfortunately,these are becoming the norm rather than the exception.*
Attending the US-Nordic-Baltic forum were Denmark,Estonia,Finland,Iceland,Latvia,Lithuania,Norway and Sweden.The forum dealt with regional security issues such as Russian behaviour in the Baltic Sea and ways to increase defence cooperation-including in the War On ISIL.*
Preceding the forum,the French Ministry of Defence revealed that,on 22 September 2016,four NATO Allies had scrambled fighter jets to intercept two Russian Tu-160 Blackjack bombers:
1.The extraordinary chase began when Norway scrambled two F-16 Fighting Falcons to escort the Blackjacks towards the north of Scotland.
2.The British sent Typhoons from RAF Lossiemouth to intercept the Russian bombers and shadow them around the west of Scotland and Ireland.As a precaution,more Typhoons were scrambled from RAF Coningsly in Lincolnsire,but didn't intercept the Blackjacks in the end.
3.Two French Rafale fighters then intercepted the Russians 100 km off the Britanny coast.Two other Rafales took over as the bombers headed south.
4.Finally,two Spanish F-18s shadowed the Blackjacks north of Bilbao,at which point the Russians turned around and flew home.*
Russia has also deployed its Iskander-M mobile nuclear-capable missile system to its territory of Kaliningrad on the Baltic coast,which is wedged between Poland and Lithuania.Poland said this was very alarming and of the highest concern;but Russia insists it is only an exercise and has been done before.

US Air Force Goes All In for NATO - multiple deployments

This month the US Air Force is making a strong effort to bolster Europe's confidence and security with a series of deployments that include the fifth generation Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor.On 11 April,12 F-22s were deployed to RAF Lakenheath,England.It is the largest ever deployment to Europe of the multi-role fighter aircraft,and only the second ever deployment of F-22s to the US European Command Area of Responsibility.
On 25 April,two of the Lakenheath F-22s were forward-deployed to Mihail Kogalniceanu Air Base,Romania,along with about 20 supporting Airmen from 95th Fighter Squadron out of Tyndall Air Force Base,Florida.The Raptors will remain at MK for a brief period of time before returning to Lakenheath,US Air Forces in Europe and Air Forces Africa explained.
Today,we deployed these aircraft,along with a KC-135 Stratotanker,here to showcase our flexible response and our range of capabilities,said Lieutenant General Timothy Ray,3rd Air Force commander.These aircraft have the ability to project air dominance quickly,at great distances,to defeat any possible threat.*
The F-22 deployments also prove that European bases and other NATO installations can host fifth generation fighters while also affording the chance for familiarisation flight training within the European theatre,according to the Air Force.*
It is important we test our infrastructure,aircraft capabilities,and the talented Airmen and allies who will host these aircraft in Europe,said General Frank Gorenc,USAFE-AFA commander.This deployment advances our airpower evolution and demonstrates our resolve and commitment to European safety and security,GEN Gorenc added.*
Earlier in the month,12 USAF Boeing F-15C Eagles arrived in Europe as part of the next Theater Security Package in support of Operation Atlantic Resolve.While in theatre the F-15s and some 350 Air National Guard personnel will participate in a variety of missions,including supporting the NATO Air Surveillance mission in Iceland at Keflavik International Airport;deploying to Leeuwarden Air Base,Netherlands;and forward deploying to other locations in European NATO and other partner nations.The aircraft will remain in Europe through September.*
The deployment to Iceland is especially critical as Iceland,apart from its small Coast Gurad,has no armed forces,and Russia has made incursions into Icelandic airspace.Russia has been stepping up its North Atlantic activity in general of late.For example,in 2014,Russia staged an operational-strategic exercise of more than 100,000 troops;in 2015,an unannounced exercise with 45,000 troops,41 warships and 15 submarines displayed full combat readiness in the area.
In a further response to Russia's threatening stance,the Pentagon plans to restore Cold War hangars and infrastructure at Keflavik for basing US Navy Boeing P-8A maritime surveillance aircraft.*
Beyond Iceland,6 F-15s will be deployed to NATO partner Finland in May.*
These TSP rotations are an excellent investment given the exceptional benefit to training,operational readiness,and our alliances and partnerships,EUCOM noted,enhacing interoperability among the services and partner military training while also bolstering our capability that enables us to continue our reassurance measures.*
Boeing (BA),Lockheed Martin (LMT)