Nordic Response: the name makes you think of a science fiction opus. However, this NATO military exercise does indeed begin in the Arctic this Sunday, March 3. Two years after the start of the war in Ukraine, the Atlantic force is flexing its muscles. In total, more than 20,000 soldiers from thirteen allied countries are participating in these military maneuvers. The exercise is scheduled to run until March 14.
Although it is not yet officially a member of the alliance, Sweden is joining them, committing 4,500 soldiers to this exercise. Its territories are therefore made available to NATO: Swedish airports and military bases will be taken over by Alliance troops. The opportunity to train for the first time across the whole of Western Lapland. A playground that is expanding by more than 500 square kilometers thanks to Sweden. “The Nordic response demonstrates that NATO clearly has the capacity, the will and the strength to defend its territory and its northern flank,” explains on its site Internet Norwegian Armed Forces.
This XXL military exercise is crucial in more than one way. First of all, Ukraine came to remind the Atlantic alliance that a conflict with Russia was possible. At the end of January 2023, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said that Moscow could attack NATO in “5 to 8 years”. Another important point: this will be the first time that all Nordic countries will join in a joint air defense operation. The opportunity also to test the cohesion of Norway, Finland and Sweden. From an aerial point of view, the three nations are very integrated since they have been training together almost weekly since 2009. The Nordic Response will be an opportunity to demonstrate their cohesion to the allies.
50 submarines, a hundred combat planes…
Furthermore, operations will be led by Norway, a historic member of NATO. “A united Nordic region within NATO will strengthen the Alliance and make the Nordic countries more secure,” rejoiced Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre at the Vilnius summit in July 2023. Among the soldiers present at the Nordic Response, around 10,000 will be on land. They will be most visible during exercise. Activity at sea will be particularly intense with more than 50 submarines, frigates, corvettes, aircraft carriers and various amphibious ships registered. And in the air? Around a hundred combat, transport and even maritime surveillance aircraft…
Many countries responded: Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, the United Kingdom and United States. For the so-called “southern” countries, this operation will be an opportunity to adapt to harsh climatic conditions, an environment well known to the Russians and from which its troops can gain a clear advantage. Note that this XXL military exercise is also an opportunity to rethink the architecture of NATO. Indeed, Denmark, Norway and Finland are not under the same command. Norway is under Norfolk, USA, while Finland and Denmark are incorporated under Brunssum, Netherlands.
Nordic Response 2024 is part of NATO’s record-breaking Steadfast Defender exercise, the largest ever organized on European soil in forty years. And for good reason: 90,000 men are involved in this exercise which runs from February to May 2024. For comparison, the previous edition, in 2021, had gathered 9,000 men, ten times less… The Steadfast Defender takes place in the Germany-Poland-Baltic belt, from January 31 to May 31. Nordic Response is also closely integrated with the British-led Joint Warrior naval exercise which took place the week of February 24 between Scotland, Norway and Iceland. This will then be followed by the Dragon 24 military exercise, in Poland, until Tuesday March 5.
In addition to the forces preparing on the ground, this is a communications war being waged against Russia. Objective: demonstrate to the Kremlin that NATO is determined to defend the European continent. One thing is certain: the Alliance is returning to the major maneuvers of the Cold War, the last of which dates from 1988, a year after the fall of the Berlin Wall. It remains to be seen how Moscow responds.