The Arctic Forge exercise, which began in Finland and Norway, will continue until February 28. Officially, the event focuses on command and control of multinational forces in extreme environments and harsh weather conditions. Such maneuvers have become regular as NATO is actively preparing for a confrontation with Russia over the Arctic. RIA Novosti’s Andrei Kots reports on the developments.

A cold-weather survival exercise

About 330 US soldiers from the 11th Airborne Division and 10th Mountain Division are participating in the maneuvers, alongside 40 troops from the 2nd Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group, and 500 Finnish personnel. A further 110 US Army personnel from the 41st Field Artillery Brigade will deploy from Germany to Norway to practice “long-range precision strike capabilities in Arctic conditions.”

Until recently, Arctic Forge used to be hosted by Norway; now Finland has joined the club. Soldiers from Texas, Florida, Louisiana, and Arizona, who have hardly ever seen snow, are learning survival and combat skills in extremely low temperatures (minus 15 degrees Celsius is deemed extremely low for NATO). They traverse snow-covered terrain on skis, practice equipment maintenance in the cold, and dive into ice holes in full combat gear. They are obviously trying to figure out the secrets of the frost resistance of their likely enemy — the Russians.

NATO believes that the remoteness of the region and the harsh climate require adjustments to their techniques of handling weapons and military equipment. They believe they need special crews and larger units that remain adaptable and can respond to any crisis or conflict in the Arctic.

Incorporating Finland

It is clear that the Pentagon has begun military expansion to the territory of its new ally, Finland. Last fall, General Chris Cavoli, NATO’s Supreme Allied Commander Europe, announced plans for a combined air operations center in the Arctic in one of the Nordic countries.

Officially, the center’s mission is to “enhance NATO’s situational awareness across the Arctic.” Unofficially, it is going to watch Russia’s Northern Fleet and coastal infrastructure and conduct aerial surveillance of the Northern Sea Route. The exact location of the center is yet to be decided, but Finland is only 165 kilometers from the strategically important city of Murmansk. In September 2024, the media reported that a NATO forward land forces base was under construction in Finnish Lapland. Most of the personnel at the base will be Swedish, with 20−50 Swedish officers to be deployed there.

The defense cooperation pact Helsinki and Washington signed in December 2023 spells out everything the US military will be allowed do on Finnish territory, from moving equipment to preparing apartments for their families. The agreement also lists 15 facilities and areas in Finland to which the US military will have unimpeded access including military bases, airfields, and ports. The Americans are now allowed to conduct maneuvers, maintain transport, station personnel, and build facilities in the country – provided it is done “with full respect for Finland’s sovereignty, laws, and international legal obligations” – including the storage of certain types of weapons.

An Arctic confrontation

However, Moscow has something to show in response. It has had air defense systems of various ranges adapted to high latitudes for a few years now. Long-range S-400 anti-aircraft missiles are deployed in the Arctic, covered by new Pantsir and Tor air defense systems. Russian bases are protected from attacks from the sea by coastal missile systems. The first full-fledged Arctic unit of the Ground Forces, the 80th Separate Motorized Rifle Brigade, is stationed in the village of Alakurtti in the Murmansk Region.

One can hardly move in on the Arctic without operating a strong icebreaker fleet. Whether the West will be able to quickly build one is a big question. Two relatively serviceable but frankly old American ships of this class are clearly not enough. The situation is no better in other countries showing interest in the Arctic, such as Canada, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Denmark.

As a quick update, the Canadians have warships to patrol in Arctic waters, but they are not capable of deploying significant land forces to the region. The Norwegian Navy has four patrol ships, but they are very modestly armed. Denmark has a fairly strong navy, but few ice-class ships and no military infrastructure in the Arctic. Finland and Sweden do not have significant military capabilities at sea at all.

This means that the US cannot seriously rely on its allies in the northern waters. They are facing some challenges on land as well. The US Army is sorely lacking in transport for cargo and personnel in the harsh polar conditions. The only suitable carriers are Bandvagn 206, the Swedish two-link tracked all-terrain vehicles, used as small unit support vehicles (SUSV). However, the first models rolled off the assembly line 40 years ago and have long since failed to meet modern requirements.

The icebreaker trump card

Russia is in a much more advantageous position in this regard, with two nuclear icebreakers that use 75,000 horsepower twin-reactor nuclear power plants (Yamal, 50 Let Pobedy), two more with single 50,000 horsepower reactors (Taymyr, Vaygach), the nuclear cargo carrier and container ship Sevmorput with a 40,000 horsepower reactor, and five service vessels. The icebreaker Sovetsky Soyuz

 is in operational reserve. In addition, there are diesel-electric vessels.

Furthermore, Project 23550 universal ice-class patrol ships are already entering service: code name Arktika for the Navy and code name Yermak for the border troops. The project flagman, Ivan Papanin, took part in Russia’s Main Naval Parade on the Neva River in 20204. The next ship, Nikolai Zubov, will be delivered to the customer in 2026.

With its impressive icebreaker fleet, Russia is the only player capable of providing icebreaker support to Arctic convoys travelling the Northern Sea Route today. However, the ice is melting, and the importance of these ships will eventually decline. Moscow must be prepared for a new battle for the Arctic, a region that holds enormous mineral reserves.