NATO launched its biennial Arctic military exercise Cold Response on Monday, part of the alliance's increased presence in the Arctic area known as Arctic Sentry. This year's exercise involves roughly 25,000 troops from 14 countries, with Sweden participating with its largest contingent so far. According to officials, the Arctic is gaining greater military significance, and mastering combat in Arctic conditions is becoming more important.
The military exercise Cold Response is currently ongoing in Norway and Finland. It takes place primarily in northern Norway and Finland, regions that border Russia and are strategically vital to NATO's northern defence. Participants include troops from the United States, Norway, Finland, and Denmark, among others, with the United States expected to contribute around 4,000 personnel. Multiple reports indicate over 30,000 NATO soldiers participated in the Cold Response exercise, most from Norwegian territory.
For the first time, Sweden is sending a larger brigade with division leadership to Finland for Cold Response. The exercise's location in regions bordering Russia highlights its role in NATO's Arctic strategy, which aims to deter potential aggression in the High North. Sweden's unprecedented participation signals its deepening integration into NATO structures following its accession.
A key feature of this year's exercise is a stronger emphasis on the role of civilians in supporting military operations during wartime. Norway has declared 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. The exercise involves training for mass casualty situations and integration of civilian healthcare.
Norway's elite soldiers for Arctic warfare use quinzhees, or snow caves, to stay hidden from drones' sensors. An officer of the Norwegian Long Range Reconnaissance Squadron, nicknamed Poster Boy, is hidden in a snow-made shelter in Norwegian woods, about 400 kilometers from the Russian border, as part of Norway's elite Arctic task force designed to operate far behind enemy lines for surveillance missions. The snow cave is 1.5m high and 2m wide, built by piling snow together and allowing it to sinter, a task force specialty.
Norwegian reconnaissance soldiers carry their own unmanned craft to spy on adversaries, with the unit experimenting with winterized surveillance drones, including American-made Skydio and first-person-view models. Forces are testing attack drones and several unmanned ground robots in ground-to-ground and air-to-ground roles during Cold Response. The name of the game for quinzhee users is silence and invisibility, objectives increasingly hard to achieve as seen in the war in Ukraine, with one way to mitigate risks being to focus on tracking avoidance in snow, minimizing visual, thermal, or electronic signatures.
Separately, the Norwegian Armed Forces conducted a 100-day research exercise with 13 soldiers in the field without support to gain new knowledge. The soldiers performed various tasks including surveillance and evacuating simulated injured persons. Researchers were uncertain if the Norwegian 100-day exercise would be possible and had plans to stop it if needed. The research project was done in collaboration with the Norwegian School of Sport Sciences, with soldiers' physical condition examined before and after the exercise. The soldiers performed as well after the 100 days as before, surprising researchers.
Lessons from the Norwegian research exercise include practical equipment improvements and that soldiers did not get enough fluids. The final results from the Norwegian research project will be shared with other countries including Sweden. The Norwegian Defense Materiel Agency announced last month that recent trials in Denmark confirmed the effectiveness of the Swedish-made Mobile Camouflage System.
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.
In the first two months of this year, 134 deviations regarding cold injuries were reported in the Swedish Armed Forces, compared to 47 for all of 2025. Most of those affected are conscripts and students, with injuries ranging from mild to severe frostbite. During an exercise in Norrbotten in February, 13 conscripts at Skaraborg Regiment suffered various cold injuries after their tent heater stopped working. A review of cold injuries in the Swedish Armed Forces has been initiated and should be ready in May.
Specialized Arctic training exercises include 'Heimdall,' which involved testing drones and autonomous systems in Arctic winter conditions around Harstad. About 170 people from 13 military units and 23 civilian companies participated in the Heimdall exercise. Drones play a central role in Ukraine's defense and need to function in northern conditions. The Finnmark Brigade is being tested digitally through a Computer Assisted Exercise (CAX) system, with virtual soldiers controlled from Rena. The digital simulation involves 20 people maneuvering 3,500 virtual soldiers.
The Norwegian army is tripling in size, at least on paper, with the Porsanger battalion part of the new Finnmark Brigade, established just five years ago. Finnmark is larger than Denmark. Sweden's Parachute Rangers (Fallskärmsjägarna) are an elite unit with the longest endurance of all Swedish defense force units, though most Swedish army units depend on mobilized personnel, with few units deployable at short notice.
Controversial training methods during Cold Response include the Norwegian military and civilian medical personnel practicing war surgery on live pigs under anesthesia. The Norwegian military has used Live Tissue Training (LTT) with pigs since 1977, and a NATO report concludes LTT should not be replaced but should be reduced and improved. In a separate incident, reindeer herders in Mauken/Tromsdalen district were disturbed by British soldiers who camped in their reindeer herd area for three days despite prior warnings. The Norwegian Army apologized for the incident, stating information about no-go zones did not reach British soldiers before they established camp, and the reindeer district has not responded to meeting invitations from the military since 2019.
The Home Guard in Moss is training based on experiences from Ukraine, including new drills for drone threats. Norwegian instructors have trained thousands of Ukrainian soldiers through Operation Interflex over four years. Home Guard training in Moss now lasts five days, compared to two nights previously, though Home Guard soldiers lack sufficient ammunition for training.
Diplomatic dimensions include U.S. President Donald Trump repeatedly arguing that the United States should control Greenland to counter potential influence from Russia and China. The Danish government and Greenland's authorities have firmly rejected the idea that Greenland is for sale, yet Denmark is still participating in the NATO drills alongside U.S. forces. Crown Prince Haakon visited Cold Response for two days, meeting allied soldiers at Camp Viking in Skjold leir, while Britain is doubling its military presence in Norway due to increased threat from Russia. Norway and Britain are considering joint purchase of up to 30 boats for coastal forces.
Logistically, from March 18, military vehicles can pass through Västerbotten on their way home southward, with focus during the weekend of March 20-22. Cold Response has been conducted in Finland, and military personnel and vehicles may be seen on roads and railways in Västerbotten where they are not normally present. The public is urged not to hinder military convoys, follow signs, not photograph military vehicles, and think critically as foreign powers may want to discredit the activity. There will be increased military traffic in Norrbotten, Sweden, as Cold Response concludes, affecting roads like E4 and Route 97.
Key unknowns persist, including why the U.S. military withdrew one squadron of F-35 Lightning II fighter jets that were initially scheduled to take part in the exercise. Officials declined to confirm whether the redeployment was linked to ongoing military commitments elsewhere. The full extent of lessons learned from the Norwegian 100-day research exercise is not yet known, as not all data is analyzed. How effectively civilian systems integrated into Cold Response performed during the exercise, particularly in handling simulated mass casualties, also remains to be fully assessed.
The implications for future Arctic warfare include the need for continued innovation in stealth and drone technology. Enhanced defense cooperation is evident, with the exercises collectively aiming to bolster NATO's deterrence and defense posture in the increasingly contested Arctic region.