Northern Viking 22:Protecting Sea Routes and Infrastructure

Underway in the high north is NATO Exercise Northen Viking 22,a high intensity and multi-domain series of maritime drills focused on critical sea lanes and infrastructure of the North Atlantic Ocean.Of special concern is the threat Russia poses to undersea telecommunications cables and its utilisation of the GIUK (Greenland/Iceland/UK) Gap,a naval chokepoint between the three land masses of the North Atlantic. In 2019,ten Russian submarines of the Northern Fleet,including two diesel and eight nuclear-powered submarines,left their homeport in the Kola Peninsula and attempted to breach the GIUK Gap undetected and enter the Atlantic Ocean. The Royal Navy's First Sea Lord and Chief of Naval Staff,Admiral Sir Tony Radakin,is concerned about a phenomenal increase in Russian submarine underwater activity,as Russia's underwater programme intends to put at risk and potentially exploit undersea cables critical to the world's real information system.According to Admiral Radakin: That is where predominantly all the world's information and traffic travels.Russia has grown the capability to put at threat those undersea cables and potentially exploit those undersea cables.* The deep sea cables enclose thousands of miles of fibre optic cables for carrying digital information such as the Internet.Russia is believed to be mapping the undersea cables.* As well,heavily armed Russian warships had tested up to ten of the new Tsirkov hypersonic cruise missiles from a frigate and a submarine in December 2021.Indeed,in September 2021,a Russian spy ship,the Yankar,that can reportedly cut undersea cables,was detected in the English Channel and headed north.And Russia is believed to have submarines with robotic arms that can tamper with or cut vital cables critical to data traffic.Thus Russian sabotage could devastate the world's information-dependent economy,and the GIUK Gap woud be strategically important for Russia's Northern Fleet in any conflict with NATO.* Participating in NV 22 are Royal Navy warships the aircraft carrier HMS Prince of Wales (R09) and frigate Richmond (F239);plus the Royal Norwegian Navy's frigate HNoMS Thor Heyerdahl (F314).Additionally,US Marines will stage an amphibious landing at Midsandur in Hvalfjordur,Iceland on 11 APR 22.Besides the US Marines,other participants include naval forces from France,Germany,Norway and the UK.The Icelandic Coast Guard and police will take part in search and rescue activities.The naval warfighters will practise defending sea routes to the south of Iceland and searching for enemy submarines off the Icelandic coast with anti-submarine warfare airplanes and helicopters.* At the top of the GIUK Gap is Thule Air Base,Greenland,a highly strategic asset and the northernmost outpost of the US military (US Space Force and US Air Force).Greenland is a Danish territory and the air base was even visited by Queen of Denmark Margrethe II recently.The base contains several missile warning sensors of Space Delta 4,as well as space surveillance and control sensors of Space Delta 2,which provide space awareness and advanced missile detection to NORAD,USSF and joint partners.Thule also contains the 12th Space Warning Squadron,which operates the Ballistic Missile Early Warning System (BMEWS) for tracking ICBMs targeting North America;while the 23rd Space Operations Squadron of Space Delta 6 controls satellites.Thule Air Base is operated by the US Space Force and controlled by the US Air Force Peterson-Schriever Garrison,821st Air Base Group.A joint force team of 150 Space Force and Air Force personnel endure the hardship post (no families) with its absolutely brutal winter weather (temperatures down to -35F/-37.2 C) for one-year stints.*

Air With Ground:US and Norwegian Forces Exercise in the Arctic - plus a Vast Manoeuvre Coming Up

On 1 November 2021,Royal Norwegian Air Force F-35 Lightning II fighters and two US Air Force B-1B Lancer strategic bombers exercised in the Arctic Region.The aircraft executed a joint targeting drill with Norwegian Joint Terminal Attack Controllers (JTACs) on the ground.This key Allied capability requires constant practise to optimise communications and procedures,Allied Air Command said.The mission also tested integration and interoperability between the advanced fighter platform F-35S and the supersonic B-1Bs.Noted Commander Allied Air Command,General Jeff Harrigian,US Air Force: Bomber Task Force missions optimise integration between NATO Allies while enhancing our response to threats throughout the Arctic.Combining fifth-generation assets with long-range strike capabilities strengthens our collective deterrence.* The F-35 offers unparalleled command and control for battlespace awareness.Coupled with the strategic range of the B-1B and the ability to employ mixed forces,the F-35s provide a spectrum of options for Allied commanders,Allied Air Command observed.* In 2022,Norwegian forces will lead a massive Arctic drill,Cold Response 2022.The Royal Norwegian Navy and Air Force will play the leading roles in CR 22,which will feature around 40,000 Allied troops.Indeed,it is to be the largest exercise inside the Arctic Circle since the 1980s,during the Cold War.The scenario of CR 22 is the reinforcement of Northern Norway in the Ofoten area,which is near Norway's Northern Brigade and several training areas used by NATO forces.Ofoten is considered to be strategically critical for the countering of a global crisis instigated by Russia.That is because it is only around 600 km/372.882 mi from Russia's nuclear submarines of its Northern Fleet,which is based on the Kola Peninsula. Russia will be invited to observe the drills,in accordance with international norms.On a number of occasions,however,Russia has conducted missile firings in the region with little advance warning,just suddenly posting a NOTAM notice of an air hazard zone.

Strategic Thinking:US Marines Increasing Presence in Norway

One of the main events for US Marine Forces Europe and Africa this summer was the augmentation of its rotational presence in Norway,at the request of the Norwegian government as stated in a bilateral document.This provides for:
1.More than doubling the number of Marines from about 330 to 700;
2.Establishing a second rotation of Marines in Trom County,Northern Norway,around 250 miles from the Russian border;and
3.Extending the programme for another five years.
The programme began in 2017 with a rotation in Central Norway's Trondheim area,some 900 miles from the Russian border.In a crisis,these troops could be rapidly shifted to Sweden as a Baltic reinforcement.
Besides troop rotations,the Marines have been prepositioning military equipment in the Trondelg area under the Marine Corps Prepositioning Program-Norway (MCPP-N).The MCPP-N is intended to supply a full Marine Air-Ground Task Force (MAGTF) or Marine Expeditionary Brigade (MEB) for 30 days if bolstered with additional supplies.There are 6 caves and 2 storage facilities near air bases in this Central Norway location for Marine Corps vehicles and other gear.The exact locations are classified;but the stated purpose of the caches is to support global operations.
The Marines also utilise the Maritime Prepositioning Force (MPF),storing their gear on ships.The gear is used for exercises in Northern Europe and Theater Security Cooperation Events,as well as being on hand for crisis response.*
Most of the Marines are based near Trondheim;under the new agreement,an undisclosed number will rotate to the Arctic Trom region.Indeed,even those in Central Norway have concentrated on acquiring Arctic warfighting skills.Norway is very concerned about Russia's Arctic activities,since Norway's land border with Russia is in the Far North;as well,Russia's Northern Fleet transits the Barents Sea,including ballistic missile submarines armed with ICBMs.*
In strategic circles,it is commonly believed Russia might launch a surprise ground attack on the Baltic States,fortified with its anti-access/area denial advantage from its ballistic missile,air power and surface-to-air defence assets in the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad,which is located between Poland and Lithuania on the Baltic Sea.
This scenario could also entail a quick strike on Sweden's Gotland Island to establish a second Baltic A2AD chokehold,so the Marines have done some training on Gotland,during the Aurora 17 drills.