The recent inclusion of Sweden and Finland in NATO is opening up new possibilities for enhanced cooperation among member nations in the Arctic, where Russian activity is allegedly on the rise. One potential development is the creation of a combined air operations centre (CAOC) in the region, U.S. Air Forces Europe and NATO Allied Air Command Gen. James Hecker announced at the Air & Space Forces Association's Air, Space & Cyber conference.
Hecker stated that U.S. European Command head Gen. Chris Cavoli has given initial approval to explore the concept further. “We’ve thrown out the idea. Gen. Cavoli in principle agrees with it. That doesn’t mean it’s a done deal,” Hecker said, noting that the proposal still needs to pass through NATO leadership. The location of the potential centre is still undetermined.
Speaking alongside Swedish and Norwegian air force representatives, Hecker emphasised the value of collaboration among Arctic nations, drawing on their expertise to potentially establish the new CAOC. He added, “We're going to exploit that close relationship between the Arctic nations and the knowledge that you bring to make that happen. So we're going to use that, and we're going to exploit it, and I think we'll probably get a third CAOC up there fairly shortly”.
Russian incursions into NATO airspace in the Arctic are frequent, according to Maj. Gen. Øivind Gunnerud, chief of the Royal Norwegian Air Force. “On average, per year, we intercept Russians once or twice per week [and] their ships all the time,” he said.
Hecker also mentioned that the U.S. Air Force has been experimenting with MQ-9 Reaper and Global Hawk drones in the Arctic to enhance situational awareness. This is a new effort in the region, as the extreme conditions present difficulties for solar-powered unmanned systems.
If approved, the Arctic CAOC would be NATO’s third such centre, joining existing centres in Germany and Spain.
Coordinator of the expert centre The Arctic Development Project Office, Alexander Vorotnikov, noted that the interest and claims of the United States towards Russia in the Arctic zone are increasing. The new air operations control centre will deal with ‘countering threats from the Russian Federation’, as the United States implements its updated Arctic strategy, the expert added.
Sources: The Defence One and Daily Moscow.
Also read the publication:
Norway Tugging Chinese Dragon's Whiskers in Australia
