Overview
- Roughly 32,500 personnel from 14 allies are training in Norway and Finland to defend and retake territory under Arctic conditions through March 19.
- About 1,600 German army troops, largely mountain infantry, are relieving US Marines to continue a planned counterattack in the scenario.
- The Russian Northern Fleet issued Barents Sea rocket-firing notices during the drill period, and a Yasen-class submarine fired a P-800 Oniks anti-ship missile, actions experts read as signaling linked to the Kola Peninsula.
- NATO fighters operating from Norway twice identified a Russian Il-20M reconnaissance aircraft off the coast, and reports pointed to satellite-navigation jamming north of Scandinavia.
- Norway is using the event to advance its ‘Total Defence’ approach, coordinating civilian authorities and infrastructure to sustain military operations in a crisis.