35,000 soldiers from 28 NATO countries to join biggest exercise in March

News January 21, 2022 , by IRIA No Comments

Largest NATO drills ‘Cold Response 2022’ in Arctic Circle planned in March 2022

Around 35,000 soldiers from NATO countries will participate in Cold Response 2022 exercise in Norway planned in March. The exercise will take place in Southeast Norway, Central Norway and Northern Norway.

“This will be the largest Norwegian-led exercise conducted in Norway since the 1980s”, according to the spokesperson at the Norwegian Joint Operations Headquarters Preben Aursand.

What is Cold Response?

Cold Response 2022 (CR 22) is a Norwegian-led biannual winter exercise involving NATO allied and partner countries. The largest-ever 2022 edition of the drills will take place in late March and early April. For NATO, the exercise is significant to train the deployment of the rapid reaction force, and for Norway, it is important to train reception and transfer and relocation of forces.

Which countries are participating?

The NATO countries sending forces to the exercise include the U.S., Canada, United Kingdom, Denmark, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Italy, Greece, Turkey, Germany, Spain, Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovenia, Croatia, Montenegro, and North Macedonia. Partner countries Sweden and Finland will also participate.

*^{USS Harry S. Truman during the Trident Juncture 2018 exercise. Photo: Norwegian Armed Forces}*

Thousands of troops will join the drills

Several thousand foreign soldiers will come to Norway to participate in the exercise. Nearly 28 nations with a total of 35,000 soldiers have signed up for the drills as of December 2021. Of these, 14,000 are land forces, 13,000 are naval forces while 8,000 are air force personnel. However, the numbers will change towards the exercise. Norwegian civilian agencies and organizations will also participate besides the entire armed forces.

The United States and the United Kingdom will account for the largest part of the allied forces. The British carrier HMS Prince of Wales and the American Nimitz-class carrier USS Harry S. Truman will also head to Arctic Circle to join the exercise, with support vessels. The U.S. views the High North as an area of importance to preserve strategic stability and a rules-based international order.

The largest @NATO exercise inside the Arctic Circle, Cold Response is planned for the beginning of March.

35,000 soldiers from 28 nations will participate. U.S. aircraft carrier "USS Harry S Truman" will also be part of the exercise. pic.twitter.com/qieTmM1mJ7
— US Mission to NATO (@USNATO) January 19, 2022

Through the exercise, Norway seeks to build its security in partnership with NATO allies amid growing tensions and distrust between Russia and Nordic states. Norway’s former Defense Minister Frank Bakke-Jensen earlier said that Cold Response 2022 must be seen as part of a more persistent NATO presence in the Arctic. “The exercise will also test allied ability to protect NATO interests in the Arctic. This is deterrence in action,” the minister wrote.

Cold Response 2022

The exercise brings together 35,000 troops from 28 NATO countries and other partner nations.