On a visit to meet with Royal Marines and Army Commandos in the Arctic Circle in northern Norway, United Kingdom Defence Secretary John Healey announced that the number of British troops deployed to Norway will double over the next three years from 1,000 to 2,000. “Russia poses the greatest threat to Arctic and High North security that we have seen since the Cold War,” he said in a Ministry of Defence news release. “The U.K. is stepping up … doubling the number of troops we have in Norway and scaling up joint exercises with NATO allies.”
Healey announced the plans while on a visit to the Troms region of Norway with Norwegian Defence Minister Tore O. Sandvik on February 11, 2026. The two nations already are elevating their defense cooperation to a historically high level.
Currently, Royal Marines and Army Commandos train at Camp Viking, an Arctic Circle base in Øverbygd, Norway, that opened in 2023 and is leased from the Norwegian government. The U.K. military conducts seasonal mountain and cold weather warfare training there. But the units, in addition to doubling in size, will begin to operate there year-round, the Army Technology website reported.
This follows the historic Lunna House Agreement with Norway, signed in December 2025. Under the pact, the U.K. and Norway will jointly operate a fleet of submarine-hunting Type 26 warships, expand joint Arctic training, and preposition British military equipment in Norway to be better prepared for crises.
The rest of 2026 also will be productive. About 1,500 Royal Marine Commandos will deploy to Norway for NATO’s Exercise Cold Response in March. The major military exercise across Finland, Norway and Sweden will enhance allied ability to defend strategic locations.
In September, Exercise Lion Protector will see air, land and sea forces from the U.K.-led Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF) train to protect critical infrastructure across Iceland, the Danish Straits and Norway from attacks and sabotage, and strengthen their joint command and control capabilities. Hundreds of personnel from JEF nations will deploy across the High North for the exercise.
“Cold Response and Lion Protector will this year see thousands of troops deploy across the Arctic and North Atlantic — with the U.K. leading the way,” Healey said. “We train together, we deter together, and if necessary, we will fight together.”
Healey also confirmed that U.K. Armed Forces will play a vital role in NATO’s Arctic Sentry mission, a multidomain operation that will enhance the alliance’s presence in the Arctic and High North by aligning NATO and allied activities. Arctic Sentry will be led by NATO’s Joint Force Command Norfolk in Virginia. All Nordic countries were placed under the responsibility of the High North-focused command in December 2025.
Since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, NATO nations have seen an increase in Kremlin aggression across the Arctic, High North and North Atlantic. That has altered the security picture for the region and the alliance. “We see [Russian President Vladimir] Putin rapidly reestablishing military presence in the region, including reopening old Cold War bases,” Healey said.
In response, like much of Europe, the U.K. has committed to the largest sustained increase in defense spending since the end of the Cold War. The government expects its defense spending to hit 2.6% of gross domestic product in 2027.