“‘The Seawolf deployment, the joint B-52 flights over Norway last month, and our carrier going north of Arctic Circle for Trident Juncture all speak to a greater show of US presence in the Arctic/High North,’ said Rachel Ellehuus, deputy director of the Europe Program at the Washington-based CSIS. ‘Interestingly, they all had an element of strategic surprise,’ she added, ‘which I’m sure makes our Norwegian allies nervous as they prefer predictability in the region. I’d also note that the US is still behind in fielding some basic capabilities needed to work in an Arctic environment…’”
