Exercise Cold Response & Subsequent Exercises

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British aircraft carrier leading massive fleet off Norway

HMS Prince of Wales is leading a fleet composed of assault ship HMS Albion, an unnamed Astute-class nuclear submarine, destroyer HMS Defender, frigates HMS Richmond and HMS Northumberland, minehunter HMS Grimsby, tanker RFA Tidesurge, auxiliary landing ship RFA Mounts Bay in addition to over a dozen NATO warships.

For some details see - https://ukdefencejournal.org.uk/british ... FFTPuL-4sc

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Yesterday a Forsvaret P-3C Orion monitored two warships of the Russian Northen Fleet - battlecruiser RFS Peter the Great and destroyer RFS Severomorsk off the north Norwegian coast.
Deployed to observe NATO exercise ColdResponse22.

See - https://twitter.com/NavyLookout/status/ ... 6655562756

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UK Armed Forces join largest Arctic exercise in 30 years

Six Royal Navy ships and 2,000 UK personnel have joined vessels and troops from 26 other nations for Exercise Cold Response off the shores of Norway.
From: Ministry of Defence and The Rt Hon Ben Wallace MP.

See - https://www.gov.uk/government/news/uk-a ... n-30-years
And - https://twitter.com/HMSPWLS/status/1503715384222011396

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HMS Prince of Wales
While the NATO ships came together on Monday for ColdResponse22 we were able to brief the other unit Commanders on the exercise.
Photos at - https://twitter.com/HMSPWLS/status/1504095076015874051

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Royal Navy and partners rehearse protecting NATO’s Northern Flank from Russian attack


NATO Exercise Cold Response 2022 (CR22), the largest cold-weather exercise in Norway since the 1980s began this week. In this photo and video essay, we look at the naval aspects, the strategic context and Royal Navy participation.

Pressure on the Northern Flank
Cold Response is a long-planned bi-annual set piece that is intended to demonstrate how NATO forces would reinforce its Northern Flank in the event of a Russian attack on Norway. The exercise which runs until 1st April includes land, sea and air forces and around 35,000 personnel from 28 nations. The ability to operate effectively in the challenging conditions of the Arctic is a perishable skill set that demands regular rehearsal.

This area is of critical strategic importance, control of Norway helps limit Russian naval access to the North Atlantic and the North Sea as well as deny them a base for attacking the UK and northern Europe. The invasion of Ukraine has dramatically stiffened NATO resolve and unity in a matter of weeks and CR22 demonstrates that NATO has the willingness and ability to defend Norway while simultaneously enhancing its presence in mainland Europe and the Mediterranean. NATO is a defensive alliance and in an effort to provide clarity and reassurance, Russia was invited to send observers to Norway for the exercise as they have in previous years but they declined to attend CR22.

Continues at - https://www.navylookout.com/royal-navy- ... an-attack/

Commando pilots lift tonnes of logs to mountain shelters

https://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/news-and-l ... n-shelters

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Massive Arctic exercise moves into top gear as amphibious raids begin

The largest military exercise in Norway in a generation shifts up a gear with UK Commando Forces spearheading amphibious raids in the icy fjords of the Arctic.
Landing and raiding craft, plus troop-carrying helicopters are putting elite Royal Marines and their equipment on the snow-covered shores of northern Norway as Exercise Cold Response moves into its ‘business end’.
Assault and command ship HMS Albion and amphibious ship RFA Mounts Bay are the springboards for the amphibious elements of the exercise.

Continues at - https://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/news-and-l ... 2mrLnAWSRo

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Battlecruiser launched surface-to-air missiles in Norwegian Sea

The Russian Northern Fleet exercised with both artillery and surface-to-air missiles at a pre-announced area halfway between Northern Norway and Iceland in the first week of NATO’s Cold Response.

https://thebarentsobserver.com/en/secur ... wegian-sea

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COLD RESPONSE TWEETS FROM PoW

Apparently there's been a heatwave back in the UK?
Our flight deck crew are busy clearing the snow so we can continue to operate in the Arctic with
NATO on Cold Response 22 in Norway.
Photos at - https://twitter.com/HMSPWLS/status/1508411718929731584

NATO is an "Arctic Alliance”, Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said visiting exercise Cold Response 22 in Norway.
Video at - https://twitter.com/NATOpress/status/15 ... 5992013831

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Royal Marines launch commando raid from Astute class submarine during Arctic exercise


This brief photo and video essay shows Royal Marines of Surveillance and Reconnaissance Squadron, 30 Commando Information Exploitation Group conducting a small boat raid from a Royal Navy Astute class submarine.

In Lyngenfjord, east of Tromso, a small team of commandos rehearsed subsurface insertion using small inflatable boats from an Astute-class SSN (most likely HMS Ambush). The aim was to conduct reconnaissance missions on the rocky and icy shoreline while avoiding the multi-national ‘enemy’ force hunting them.

The Surveillance and Reconnaissance Squadron are trained to gather information on the terrain, the enemy and suitable beach landing places for larger amphibious forces to come ashore, arriving by ski, snowmobile, boat, all-terrain vehicles, helicopter or parachute, depending on the situation and environment.

Commodore Jim Perks, the head of the RN Submarine Service, said: “The ability to operate undetected for significant periods of time with top quality kit ensures that a submarine remains a formidable delivery mechanism, in this case enabling the covert deployment of the Surveillance and Reconnaissance team as showcased in the exercises off Norway. Our ability to work together highlights the remarkable attributes of the team and the platforms in which we operate.”

Continues with video and many photos at - https://www.navylookout.com/royal-marin ... -exercise/

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PRETTY PICTURES

https://twitter.com/HMSPWLS/status/1508777386078265347
https://twitter.com/HMS_Richmond/status ... 4426251269