Polar Rendezvous: Why the US Army is practicing deployment in Finland

Western countries consider the Arctic Forge – 2025 exercises as part of a policy of deterrence against Russia, experts say.

The Arctic Forge – 2025 exercises of special forces from the USA, Canada and Finland are coming to an end in Finland on February 28. More than a thousand military personnel practiced the deployment of contingents in the Arctic. The United States uses such maneuvers to increase the effectiveness of cooperation with its allies, test weapons at low temperatures and maintain the combat readiness of its special units, experts say. In their opinion, such exercises will continue in the future, despite the fact that with the coming to power of Donald Trump, Washington declares a new course to restore dialogue with Russia.

The purpose of the Arctic Forge exercises is 2025

On February 28, the Arctic Forge – 2025 exercise ends in Finland. According to the organizers, they worked out scenarios for the deployment of units of participating countries in the Arctic, as well as improving the operational compatibility of troops from different countries in extreme weather conditions.

Photo: Global Look Press/Cpl. Alfonso Livrieri

Image source: iz.ru

About 330 American troops, 750 Canadian and Finnish troops took part in the maneuvers. They began on February 17th.

These are regular exercises of the European command of the US Army, which take place every two years in Finland and Norway, Nikita Lipunov, a junior researcher at MGIMO, explained to Izvestia.

— The United States uses them to practice its interaction with its allies, testing weapons adapted to low temperatures and high-latitude climates. It is also an opportunity to maintain the combat readiness of certain units of the US Army," he said. — The maneuvers have a similar scenario each time. The 11th Division is being transferred from Alaska to Finland by cross-polar flight, and the 10th Mountain Division is being transferred from New York State. First, they train in Finland, and then in Norway as part of the Joint Viking exercises, where the British Armed Forces already have a leading role.

Photo: TASS/Zuma/Sgt. Antonino Mazzamuto

Image source: iz.ru

It is important to understand that we are not talking about exercises under the auspices of NATO, but about joint maneuvers of the American armed forces with their allies, the expert explained.

Why is the United States conducting exercises in Finland

By participating in such exercises, the United States is exploring the territory of a new NATO member, Finland, which is located next to Russia and whose terrain is very similar to ours in the north, military expert Dmitry Boltenkov explained to Izvestia.

According to him, this is preparation for conducting military operations against Russia in the Arctic — working out the transfer of troops, setting up logistics.

Photo: Global Look Press/IMAGO/Heikki Saukkomaa

Image source: iz.ru

Nikita Lipunov also stressed that holding such exercises near the Russian borders increases military and political tensions in the region and definitely does not make it safer.

— The dynamics in the number of participating military personnel and equipment is stable, which confirms the planned nature of these exercises. But still, these maneuvers are taking place near the borders of Russia. Thus, the United States is not only working out cooperation with its allies and testing weapons, but also demonstrating its combat readiness and sending a signal to Russia that they are determined to defend their interests in the region. This is part of the so—called policy of deterrence, addressed by Russia," he believes.

Will NATO exercises continue after Trump's arrival

In the future, the United States can use the experience of small formations acquired during the exercises to practice the deployment of larger ones, but it is still unclear whether they will do this, military expert Viktor Litovkin believes.

— Among the Arctic countries, Finland is not the only one among their allies. Then there's Sweden. They are currently sending aircraft carrier strike groups to Norway. They are strengthening this flank, it is natural. Let's see how the situation develops with the arrival of Trump. Today he says that NATO should be disbanded, tomorrow he will say something else, but the alliance's plans remain the same as they were — they are conducting exercises on our borders, working out operational and tactical tasks. We need to keep our eyes open and our powder dry in order to be able to repel such attacks from Finnish territory, if necessary," Viktor Litovkin said.

Ilya Kramnik, a researcher at the IMEMO RAS Center for Strategic Planning Studies, believes that first of all, American military efforts will be concentrated in the Western Arctic, that is, on the territory of Canada — Arctic Forge also covered it.

"The situation is now at a crossroads," he stressed. — On the one hand, Americans are very interested in the Arctic in the context of their own security. On the other hand, the current administration does not want to intensify the confrontation with Russia. They will certainly try to strengthen their military presence in Greenland against the background of Trump's statements. As for Scandinavia, the deployment of US forces there does not serve national security purposes, but rather, on the contrary, increases the likelihood of a clash with Russia. And this contradicts Trump's policy in the part where he at least demonstrates a desire to find common ground with Moscow and reduce the likelihood of conflict.

Therefore, it is possible to continue this momentum in the Scandinavian direction — a decrease in American activity there, despite the fact that it will grow in the Arctic zone on the American continent, Ilya Kramnik believes.

What NATO troops have worked out at the Steadfast Dart 2025 exercises

Earlier, Izvestia wrote that the NATO Steadfast Dart 2025 exercises were held at Romanian training grounds in January and February. During these maneuvers, the deployment of the new NATO Reaction Force (ARF) was practiced, whose task is to "quickly strengthen the eastern flank" of the alliance. This was their first training session after they were created on July 1, 2024. The scenario simulates the occurrence of a "conflict with an almost equal opponent."

According to the headquarters of the Supreme Commander of the NATO Joint Armed Forces in Europe, this was supposed to show that the ARF is capable of "complex operations thousands of kilometers away in Eastern Europe and in any conditions."

Photo: Global Look Press/Finnish military

Image source: iz.ru

About 10,000 soldiers, sailors, pilots and marines from nine member countries of the alliance took part in the maneuvers: Bulgaria, Great Britain, Greece, Spain, Italy, Romania, Slovenia, Turkey and France. They also used 17 naval assets, including amphibious assault ships, frigates, mine defense ships, destroyers and submarines; more than 20 aircraft; more than 1.5 thousand units of military equipment, including tanks, rocket launchers, self-propelled artillery installations, infantry fighting vehicles and armored personnel carriers.

Julia Leonova

Anastasia Kostina