The exercise includes troops from the United States, Norway, Finland, and Denmark, among others, with the United States contributing around 4,000 personnel. However, the U.S. military has withdrawn one squadron of F-35 Lightning II fighter jets that were initially scheduled to take part, with officials declining to confirm whether the redeployment was linked to ongoing military commitments elsewhere, noting that U.S. forces are frequently reassigned depending on operational priorities. Around 25,000 soldiers are participating in the winter exercise in the northern regions, according to reports.
Sweden is participating with its largest contribution so far, sending a larger brigade with division leadership to Finland for Cold Response for the first time. This deployment will lead to increased military traffic in Norrbotten, Sweden, as Cold Response ends in Finland, with the County Administrative Board in Västerbotten announcing that military personnel and vehicles may be seen on roads and railways during this period in areas where they are not normally present. Transports may affect traffic flow and local traffic, and the public is urged not to hinder a convoy, to follow any signs and recommendations, not to photograph military vehicles, and to think critically as foreign powers may want to discredit the activity, according to Länsstyrelsen i Västerbotten.
I have not heard of anyone ever doing a similar experiment, noting that polar explorers have different tasks than soldiers.
The Norwegian military is participating in NATO's Cold Response exercise in northern Norway, as the Norwegian army is tripling in size, at least on paper, with Porsanger Battalion part of the new Finnmark Brigade, established five years ago. The Norwegian defense strategy has shifted from resisting attacks from Troms county to delaying and stopping attacks in Finnmark, a region larger than Denmark, according to bataljonssjef Kim Kaspersen.
A key feature of this year's exercise is a stronger emphasis on the role of civilians in supporting military operations during wartime, with Norway declaring 2026 the year of 'total defence,' integrating civilian infrastructure, public institutions, and private companies into national defence planning. During the drills, NATO will test how hospitals and emergency services in northern Norway could handle a surge of casualties transported from a simulated frontline in neighbouring Finland. Crown Prince Haakon visited Narvik hospital to learn about total defence and healthcare support in crises.
It's a constant evolution of what works and what doesn't for us – what worked four years ago might not work today due to all the technology developments of equipment designed to catch us, some years ago a tent and camouflage could've been sufficient but not anymore.
In a related research effort, the Norwegian military started an exercise to gain new and documented knowledge, with 13 soldiers in the field for 100 days without support, performing tasks like lying still for surveillance for several days and physically demanding activities such as evacuating simulated injured persons with a pulk in heavy snow. Researchers were uncertain if it would even be possible and had plans to stop the exercise if needed, according to Jørgen Melau, but the research project, done in collaboration with the Norwegian School of Sport Sciences with soldiers' physical condition examined before and after, showed they performed as well after as before, contrary to expectations. Not all data is analyzed yet, but there are already several lessons to draw, including practical improvements in equipment and insufficient fluid intake, as soldiers had to melt snow for water, which is something to improve, though it was not a huge problem, according to Jørgen Melau. The final results will be shared with other countries, including Sweden, due to close cooperation.
Cold injuries have been a concern, with 134 deviations reported in the Swedish military in the first two months of this year, compared to 47 in all of 2025, affecting mostly conscripts and students, with injuries ranging from a white spot on the cheek to deeper frostbite injuries. During an exercise in Norrbotten in February, 13 conscripts at Skaraborgs Regiment, P 4, suffered various types of cold injuries after the heater in their tent stopped working. A review of the cold injuries has been initiated and should be ready in May.
Those drone systems will be increasingly relevant in a potential conflict with Russia, where the battle space would consist of vast stretches of icy land.
Military traffic advisories are in place, with vehicles passing through Västerbotten from March 18, emphasizing the weekend of March 20-22, as Cold Response has been conducted in Finland. The Norwegian military and civilian health personnel are practicing war surgery on live pigs in Narvik as part of Cold Response, marking the first time civilian teams have been integrated into a military field hospital in such training, according to forsvarets overlege i kirurgi, Marius Vandvik. The Norwegian military has used Live Tissue Training with pigs since 1977, and a NATO report concludes it should not be replaced but should be reduced and improved.
Reindeer herders in Mauken/Tromsdalen district report being sidelined in planning for Cold Response, with military activities disturbing reindeer herds, and British soldiers established camp in a no-go zone for reindeer herding due to a communication failure, according to kommunikasjonssjef i Hæren, oberstløytnant Lars Ø. Strøm. The reindeer herding district has not responded to meeting invitations from the military since 2019.
Military readiness depends heavily on the ability of civilian systems to continue functioning during crises.
NATO's exercise Heimdall in Harstad is testing drones and autonomous systems in Arctic conditions, with around 170 personnel from 13 military units and 23 civilian companies participating. Drones play a central role in Ukraine's defense and need to function in northern conditions, according to Richard Hjelmberg, Head of BD central & wester Europe. According to www.defensenews.com, Maj. Gen. Lars Lervik described drones as playing an important role in NATO's largest Arctic exercise, Cold Response 2026, with forces testing attack drones and several unmanned ground robots in ground-to-ground and air-to-ground roles.
The Finnmark Brigade is being tested digitally through simulations from Rena, with virtual soldiers, involving 20 people maneuvering 3,500 virtual soldiers, according to Thomas Solberg, and is scheduled to be fully operational by 2036. The Home Guard in Moss is training based on experiences from Ukraine, including new tactics against drones, with Norwegian instructors having trained thousands of Ukrainian soldiers through Operation Interflex, and the training lasting five days, longer than previous exercises, according to Camilla Nomeland.
Norway's elite soldiers for Arctic warfare use quinzhees, or snow caves, for hiding from drones' sophisticated sensors, with an officer of the Norwegian Long Range Reconnaissance Squadron, nicknamed Poster Boy, hidden in a snow-made shelter in Norwegian woods, 400 kilometers away from the Russian border. Training alongside Norwegian soldiers were elite units from other nations, including U.K. Royal Marines and Canadian Special Operations Forces Command, with Norwegian reconnaissance soldiers carrying their own unmanned craft to spy on adversaries and experimenting with different types of winterized surveillance drones, including the American-made Skydio and first-person-view models. According to www.defensenews.com, the officer described it as a constant evolution of what works and what doesn't, noting that drone systems will be increasingly relevant in a potential conflict with Russia, where the battle space would consist of vast stretches of icy land. The name of the game for the quinzhee connaisseurs is silence and invisibility, objectives increasingly hard to achieve as seen in the war in Ukraine, with one way to mitigate risks focusing on tracking avoidance in snow, minimizing a soldier's visual, thermal, or electronic signatures.
Crown Prince Haakon visited Cold Response in Indre Troms, meeting allied soldiers at Camp Viking, while Britain has doubled its military presence in Norway due to increased threat from Russia, and Norway and Britain are considering joint procurement of up to 30 boats for coastal forces. The Norwegian Defense Materiel Agency announced last month that recent trials in Denmark confirmed the effectiveness of the Swedish-made Mobile Camouflage System developed by Saab. According to moderndiplomacy.eu, Lars Lervik described military readiness as depending heavily on the ability of civilian systems to continue functioning during crises.