Some of the 1,500 Royal Marines currently deployed inside the Arctic Circle in northern Norway have been carrying out live-fire mortar drills.
As per a recent Royal Navy press statement, marines recently travelled from the U.K.’s Camp Viking in Øverbygd into the mountains near the village of Moen to fire mortars from Viking and BV206 all-terrain vehicles.
During seven days of weapons practice in temperatures as low as -20C, the Commandos fired their mortars day and night. Their 81mm mortars can be fired at up to 15 shells a minute and have a range of up to 3½ miles.
The rehearsals form part of the fighters’ preparations for NATO’s largest Arctic military drill this year, Exercise Cold Response 26, which will run from March 9-19. It will span territory across Norway and Finland and is set to involve about 25,000 troops from 14 different nations.
Later in the year, British forces will again exercise in the High North under Exercise Lion Protector. Scheduled for September, it’s being organised by the UK-led Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF) and will see air, land, and naval forces from JEF nations train together to safeguard critical national infrastructure.
Defence Secretary John Healey commented: “Demands on defence are rising, and Russia poses the greatest threat to Arctic and High North security that we have seen since the Cold War. We see Putin rapidly re-establishing military presence in the region, including reopening old Cold War bases.
“The UK is stepping up to protect the Arctic and High North – doubling the number of troops we have in Norway and scaling up joint exercises with NATO allies.”
- You can read more details on the Royal Navy website