Overview
- Air Chief Marshal Sir Harv Smyth said he is not fully confident the RAF could sustain operations at about minus 30C in the Arctic.
- He identified shortages in specialist cold‑weather kit, including warm clothing and lubricants needed to keep jets and generators operating.
- Smyth said he wants to pivot back to rebuilding engineers’ experience of working in extreme cold after skills atrophied since the Cold War.
- Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer announced a carrier strike group will deploy to the High North this year, led by HMS Prince of Wales with F‑35B jets.
- Coverage links the UK’s pivot to concerns over Russian activity and to pressure from President Donald Trump related to European defence posture.