MOSCOW, January 25-RIA Novosti, Nikolai Protopopov. The US army is strengthening in Norway, in the immediate vicinity of the Russian borders. In January, about a thousand Marines landed here. At the same time, American politicians and generals are increasingly declaring an increase in tension in the Arctic, which, according to experts, they themselves create. What the Pentagon is preparing Norway for-in the material of RIA Novosti.
A visit to the Vikings
The Marines moved to Norway from North Carolina as part of a so-called rotation. The Americans have been resorting to this trick for several years — some units are replaced by others, and the US military contingent is actually constantly present in the country.
The task of the marines is to learn how to conduct combat operations in the harsh conditions of the Arctic under the guidance of Norwegian instructors and to work out close cooperation with colleagues from NATO.
In February, the Americans, Norwegians, as well as the Dutch and British — about ten thousand fighters in total — will take part in the large-scale maneuvers of Joint Viking 2021. NATO members will work out the rapid movement of troops over long distances, master the methods of information exchange at all levels, and conduct several joint operations.
The JointViking exercises are held annually. Troops — armored vehicles, artillery, aircraft, ships and submarines-simulate high-intensity combat operations over an area of several hundred square kilometers, mainly in forest and mountainous terrain.
Military expert Alexander Zhilin noted in an interview with RIA Novosti that, according to the US military doctrine, their army learns to fight mainly abroad.
"Therefore, the policy of the state is built in such a way that the US military permanently appears in other countries to practice combat operations, reconnaissance, overflights of airfields, bypassing sea routes," he explains. "Special attention is paid to joint operations, because the United States always fights with someone else's hands."
Royal Marines during a training exercise in Norway
Image Source: CC BY-SA 2.0 / Crown Copyright/PO (Phot) Sean Clee /
According to the expert, the Pentagon is artificially escalating the situation, since the United States and NATO stubbornly refuse to give up their claims to the Arctic.
"The exercises of the Marines will be offensive, not defensive," Zhilin is sure. — In particular, they will work out actions against Russia. If we analyze NATO's maneuvers in Europe in general, we can clearly see that they are organized in such a way as to create zones of tension for Moscow. Our army cannot help but react, in particular, to what is happening in Norway. There is no panic, but the forces and means are diverted — we must fully control the situation, prevent any provocations."
British military personnel during a NATO exercise in Norway
Image Source: CC BY-SA 2.0 / Crown Copyright/PO Phot Donny Osmond /
The Northern bridgehead
The expert of the analytical club "Valdai" Artem Kureev points out that the Americans have their own developed infrastructure in Alaska for training in combat tactics in the Arctic, but they still prefer to train in Norway.
"They need it as the leaders of NATO," Kureev emphasizes. - Norway is the oldest member of the alliance. Oslo sees Russia as a likely adversary. Even during the Cold War, the Norwegians created and maintained the infrastructure to counter the USSR in the Arctic. This continues now. In the event of a real military escalation, Northern Norway will immediately become the main NATO springboard on the way to Russia's Murmansk."
Washington's desire to gain a foothold in the Arctic, displacing other countries from there, is also evidenced by the new Arctic Strategy of the Navy and the Marine Corps. In particular, it says that " without the US naval presence in the Arctic region, peace and prosperity will increasingly be threatened by Russia and China."
According to US Secretary of the Navy Kenneth Braithwaite, the Pentagon plans to constantly keep warships and submarines in the Arctic to patrol the waters near the Russian coast and prevent " Moscow's offensive in the Far North." Moreover, powerful ground forces will also be concentrated in the Arctic.
The Norwegian military
Image source: © Photo : NATO/Norwegian Armed Forces
Norwegian Defense Minister Frank Bakke-Jensen, in turn, said that the key areas in the country's security policy are the Arctic and Russia's activities in the region, and transatlantic ties here are the "cornerstone". Norway, he stressed, welcomes the increased presence of key NATO allies in the Far North.
"Along with the US Navy, Marine Corps, special forces, Air Force and Space Forces, we are developing strategic cooperation with like — minded people in the Arctic," the Minister said. — This implies regular exercises of the Allied naval and air forces in the Far North. Norway intends to participate in these events and improve interoperability with its allies."
Norwegian military in the Baltic Sea
Image source: © AP Photo / Gero Breloer
On all fronts
I must say, the United States has already gained a serious foothold in the North. And Norway plays almost the main role in this. So, in September, it was reported about the relocation of a Seawolf-class nuclear submarine to the Norwegian port of Tromso, whose main mission is to track the routes of Russian submarines.
And earlier, the United States" to contain Russia in the North " restored the Second Fleet, responsible for the Atlantic, part of the Pacific, Arctic Oceans and disbanded in 2011 for the sake of budget savings.
Another echo of the Cold War is the Norwegian underground naval base Olavsvern, located just 350 kilometers from the Russian border. The huge bunker, built in the 1960s and protected by a three-hundred-meter layer of rock, housed submarines and NATO ships, operated repair docks, and stored ammunition. At any time, the Western coalition fleet could block the Soviet Navy's access to the Norwegian Sea and the North Atlantic. At the end of the noughties, the base was closed as unnecessary, but now they plan to bring it back to life.
The Pentagon has also seriously taken up military air reinforcement in the Arctic. So, last year, large-scale exercises of the American and Norwegian Air Forces took place. At once, six B-52 Stratofortress strategic bombers flew over the North Pole and performed training flights with Norwegian Air Force fighters. And recently it became known that the Pentagon in February will transfer from Texas to the country of the fjords to the Erland air base four supersonic "strategist" B-1BLancer.
B-1B Lancer bombers at Andreson Air Force Base, Guam
Image Source: © Photo : US Air Force / Tech. Sgt. Richard P. Ebensberger