Some 30,000 troops, 200 aircraft and 50 vessels from 27 nations will take part in the Cold Response 2022 exercise in Norway on March 14, the largest exercise involving NATO troops this year.
The manoeuvres will enable Western nations to hone their combat skills in Norway’s cold climate, including in the Arctic, on the ground, at sea and in the skies.
The exercise will be held just a few hundred kilometres from the Russian border, and while it was planned long before Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, it now has added significance because of the war.
The guardian of NATO’s northern border in Europe, Norway is keen to test how it would manage Allied reinforcements on its soil, in line with Article 5 of NATO’s charter, which requires member states to come to the aid of another member state under attack.
Neighbouring Sweden and Finland, which are officially military non-aligned but increasingly close partners of NATO, will also participate in Cold Response, which will conclude on April 1.
On the Russian side of the 196-kilometre (121-mile) Arctic border that separates it from Norway is the Kola Peninsula, home to the Northern Fleet and a large number of nuclear weapons and military installations.
To avoid any misunderstandings, Norway has informed Russia of the Cold Response exercise — defined as “purely defensive” — and will keep a respectful distance from Russia.
Russia declined however an invitation to send observers to the exercise.
“Any build-up of NATO military capabilities near Russia’s borders does not help to strengthen security in the region”, the Russian embassy in Norway told AFP.
In similar circumstances in the past, Moscow has expressed its discontent by jamming GPS signals or announcing missile tests, thereby blocking access to some international maritime and air space.
More than 40,000 troops were initially expected to participate in Cold Response, but the number has shrunk due to the Covid pandemic and geopolitical crises elsewhere.
The US aircraft carrier Harry Truman and its escort ships have been kept back in the Aegean Sea, where they are helping monitor the skies near Ukraine.
Cold Response 2022 is a long-planned and regular exercise, which Norway hosts biannually. This year’s exercise was announced over eight months ago. It is not linked to Russia’s unprovoked and unjustified invasion of Ukraine, which NATO is responding to with preventive, proportionate and non-escalatory measures.
The basics
WHO: Around 30,000 troops from over 25 countries from Europe and North America
WHAT: Training together in cold weather exercises – on land, in the air and at sea
WHERE: NATO Ally Norway and surrounding seas
WHEN: March-April 2022
WHY: Helping Allies and partners practise working together so that they are prepared for any situation
Photo –
Photo – As part of the preparations for exercise Cold Response, the US Marine Corps arrived in Harstad with the ship MV Cape Race. On board the ship were several American Bell-Boeing V-22 Osprey. The helicopters were assembled together, and yesterday the helicopters took off, on their way to Bardufoss airport. One of the most important training elements with the large winter exercise is to practice receiving Allied forces, and then train together with Norwegian and foreign forces. Tiril Haslestad / Forsvaret /Norway Ministry of Defence
