NATO allies and partners will soon hold a large-scale war game in the
European Arctic involving the United States Navy 8th Aircraft Carrier
Assault Group. The NATO announcement comes amid tensions with Russia over
NATO's expansion on the continent.
Moscow considers NATO's expansion a threat to its national security. The war
game called Cold Response is scheduled for March and will involve 35,000
troops from 28 countries. The United States mission announced the news in a
tweet on Wednesday (19/1/2022).
Cold Response is a series of Norwegian-led NATO exercises held every two
years since 2006.
The previous exercise scheduled for March 2020 was meant to be of a
relatively small scale and was canceled at the last minute due to the risk
of Covid-19.
The drills to be held in Norway this year pale in comparison to the 2018
Trident Juncture maneuver, which is the country's largest since the Cold War
era. The latter is held under NATO command and not directed by the host
country, so Cold Response 2022 will be the largest Norwegian-led exercise in
decades.
"Initially the exercise was thought to be of a larger scale, with up to
45,000 troops participating, but plans changed for natural reasons,
including the pandemic situation," local media reports said.
Spokesman at Norwegian Joint Operations Headquarters Preben Aursand said the
majority of allied forces taking part in the exercise would come from the US
and UK. The US Navy sent an aircraft carrier strike group led by the USS
Harry S Truman.
The Royal Navy has deployed the HMS Prince of Wales, its newest aircraft
carrier. "The exercises will take place in late March and early April,
mostly in northern Norway," the Norwegian official said.
The upcoming exercise takes place at a time of high tension between NATO and
Russia, which views its expansion in Europe as a threat to its national
security.
The Russian military said last week that it had formally notified Norway of
plans to host NATO exercises under the Vienna Document transparency rules.
Moscow thanked Norway and wished it a safe maneuver. Russia and Norway are
neighbors, although their common land border lies far to the north and is
only about 190 km long.
