NATO reportedly dispatched a task group of warships to the icy waters of the Arctic this week just days after a major Russian naval exercise in the strategically vital region.
The mission was made up of Dutch, Norwegian, Portuguese and German vessels. NATO officials said the ships will, among other things, rehearse navigational maneuvers in the Arctic and conduct anti-submarine activities.
The vessels also will conduct “integrated operations involving the coordination of various surface ships and air assets to increase the alliance’s understanding of the maritime environment, enhance information sharing and rehearse navigational maneuvers,” Commander Arlo Abrahamson, a spokesperson for the alliance’s Allied Maritime Command, told the media outlet Defense News, which first reported the NATO mission.
It’s not unusual for NATO ships to sail through Arctic waters. But the timing of this particular mission is notable and underscores the understanding within the alliance, including in the U.S., that adversaries such as Russia are eager to exert greater power and influence over the Arctic theater.
Russia’s recent July Storm exercises included the deployment of submarines and warships to those Arctic waters.
“We will continue raising the level of combat preparedness of the crews of surface ships and submarines, coastal and aviation units and outfitting them with the most advanced equipment and armament,” Russian President Vladimir Putin said of the drills, which included more than 1,500 ships and 15,000 Russian soldiers and also saw military exercises in the Pacific Ocean and Baltic Sea.
The region is widely seen as a key economic hub in the 21st century as sea ice melts and new shipping lanes open. As an Arctic nation, Russia is generally seen as having the kinds of military capabilities necessary to operate in the region. China also is eyeing a greater presence in the Arctic and last fall sent its own icebreaker — a large ship capable of cutting through thick ice and operating in Arctic seas — to the region.
