Page 83 - North Atlantic and Nordic Defense

North European and North Atlantic Defense: The Challenges Return

Even though Russia is not considered a military threat to Norway, the combination of military modernization
and the will to exert military power is a “central factor” in Norwegian defense planning.

The country recognizes that areas in Norway’s immediate vicinity are also “central to Russian nuclear
deterrence,” and that “Russia’s military presence and activities in the North have increased in recent years.”

The High North, it asserts, continues to be characterized by stability and cooperation, and Russian strategies
for the Arctic still officially emphasize international cooperation. However, as the report notes, “we cannot rule
out the possibility that Russia, in a given situation, will consider the use of military force to be a relevant tool,
also in the High North.”

Allied Interoperability

The United States, the UK and Norway are all bringing new capabilities to bear on maritime threats in the
North Atlantic. The commitment to the new maritime surveillance and strike aircraft, the Poseidon Maritime
Patrol Aircraft (P-8), and the introduction of the new Triton UAV are part of refocusing attention on the North
Atlantic.

The Norwegians are procuring the P-8 in part to deal with this challenge and are looking to collaborate with
both the Royal Air Force and the U.S. Navy in the region as British and American P-8s (and in the American
case, the Tritons) come into the region for maritime defense.

Major General Skinnarland, Chief of Staff of the Norwegian Air Force, commented that “with the P-8s
operating from the UK, Iceland, and Norway, [the Allies] can shape a maritime domain awareness data
capability which can inform our forces effectively as well, but again, this requires work to share the data and
to shape common concepts of operations.” She noted the importance of exercising “often and effectively
together” to shape effective concepts of operations. This, she says “will require bringing the new equipment,
and the people together to share experience and to shape a common way ahead.”

After the last RAF Hawker Nimrod maritime patrol aircraft was retired in 2011, the challenge became how to
keep those key skill sets alive. NATO exercises provided interim opportunities, however in 2016, the MoD
announced a decision to purchase nine Boeing P-8s. I visited RAF Lossiemouth in north-east Scotland earlier this
year, where the Brits are standing up their new P-8 base. The new base will also allow Norwegians to train,
and the U.S. to operate as well.

Indeed, what was clear from discussions at “Lossie” is that the infrastructure is being built from the ground up
with broader considerations in mind, notably creating a 21st century maritime domain awareness information
and strike network. The RAF is building capacity in its P-8 hangers for visiting aircraft such as the RAAF, the
USN, or the Norwegian Air Force to train and operate from. In many ways, the thinking is similar to how
building the F-35 enterprise out from the UK to Northern Europe is being shaped.

Flying the same ISR/C2/strike aircraft will create synergies with regard to how best to share combat data in
a fluid situation that demands timely and effective decision-making.

The UK is clearly a key player in shaping the way ahead on both the P-8 and F-35 enterprises, not just by
investing in both platforms, but in building the infrastructure and training a new generation of operators and
maintainers as well.

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