NATO countries held the Arctic Challenge 2023 joint military exercise in the Arctic region from May 29 to June 9. This is one of the largest air exercises conducted in Europe this year, and the exercise took place at the strategic Arctic stronghold near the Russian border, which triggered a strong reaction from Russia.
The Arctic Challenge Exercise is held within the framework of Nordic cooperation and is conducted every two years since 2013. This year’s exercise is the sixth of its kindand is co-hosted by Norway, Sweden, and Finland. The Finnish Air Force takes the lead in planning and directing the training activities. The venues of the exercise include Rovaniemi and Pirkkala in Finland, Luleå in Sweden and Åland in Norway.
In terms of the scale, the exercise spans a long time and lasts for 12 days. Nearly 3,000 troops and 150 military aircraft such as fighter jets, early warning aircraft, transport aircraft and tanker aircraft from 14 countries including Finland, Sweden, Norway, the Netherlands, Belgium, the UK, Italy, Canada, France, Germany, Switzerland, Denmark, the Czech Republic, and the US are involved in the exercise. […]
The USS Gerald R. Ford, the lead ship of the Ford-class aircraft carrier, left Oslo, the capital of Norway, on May 29 for the Vesterålen in north Norway to participate in the exercise. […]
Next, the U.S. and its NATO allies will rely on exercises such as Cold Response, Arctic Edge, Polar Bear and Arctic Challenge to continuously improve Arctic combat and integrated deterrence capabilities. Russia will also rely on the construction of the Arctic Strategic Command to strengthen its standing military forces in the Arctic. The game between the two sides in the Arctic region will further intensify. Läs artikel