By Scott Morgan
The Russian Federation has had an aggressive posture towards the Western Powers, for several years now, in various crisis spots. The country has projected power from the South Ossetia region (in Georgia) and the Crimea (in Ukraine) to the seemingly never ending war in Syria and to placing mercenaries in the Central African Republic.
The response from NATO members has been haphazard at best. There seems to be a concerted effort to assure the Baltic Republics and Poland that the alliance takes any overt move by Russia seriously.
There is a glaring vulnerability that needs to be addressed as well: the Northern Flank of the Alliance. One could not pick up a novel depicting a Third World War without seeing as part of the plot a breakout into the North Atlantic by Submarines of the Soviet era navy. Other scenarios had Soviet troops invading and occupying both Iceland and Norway too.
Clearly it appears that the operational plans of that era have been reviewed and updated by the Russian Military. The question of how will the alliance respond will now have to be scrutinized by analysts.
The major power that is thrust into the position of responding is the Great Britain. There are a couple of major installations that are in the North of the Country that have been targets of major Russian recon efforts: the Submarine Base at Faslane and the main anchorage point of the Royal Navy at Scapa Flow. These bases are critical as any major counterattack in that part of the North Atlantic or the Arctic would be launched from these bases.
Realizing that the Arctic is an area of concern is a strategically sound move by the May Ministry. As to the steps that will be taken that is another area of scrutiny for those defense analysts.
One plan, currently on the board, is to have the joint training between the Royal Marines and Norway that occurs on an annual basis evolve into not only a joint training program between the two but also to become a key component of the Defense Strategy of Norway as well. One hidden benefit could potentially result in having this effort expand even further and also involve the United States Marine Corps. Previous NATO plans called for US Marines to land in Norway in support of the Norwegian Military.
How this will actually come to fruition will be known when the latest review of British Defense posture (called the Modernizing Defense Program) is released. It is expected that the Document will be published before the end of October 2018. Britain and Norway are pooling their resources to defend the Northern Flank. How will the rest of the Alliance respond?
The response from NATO members has been haphazard at best. There seems to be a concerted effort to assure the Baltic Republics and Poland that the alliance takes any overt move by Russia seriously.
There is a glaring vulnerability that needs to be addressed as well: the Northern Flank of the Alliance. One could not pick up a novel depicting a Third World War without seeing as part of the plot a breakout into the North Atlantic by Submarines of the Soviet era navy. Other scenarios had Soviet troops invading and occupying both Iceland and Norway too.
Clearly it appears that the operational plans of that era have been reviewed and updated by the Russian Military. The question of how will the alliance respond will now have to be scrutinized by analysts.
The major power that is thrust into the position of responding is the Great Britain. There are a couple of major installations that are in the North of the Country that have been targets of major Russian recon efforts: the Submarine Base at Faslane and the main anchorage point of the Royal Navy at Scapa Flow. These bases are critical as any major counterattack in that part of the North Atlantic or the Arctic would be launched from these bases.
Realizing that the Arctic is an area of concern is a strategically sound move by the May Ministry. As to the steps that will be taken that is another area of scrutiny for those defense analysts.
One plan, currently on the board, is to have the joint training between the Royal Marines and Norway that occurs on an annual basis evolve into not only a joint training program between the two but also to become a key component of the Defense Strategy of Norway as well. One hidden benefit could potentially result in having this effort expand even further and also involve the United States Marine Corps. Previous NATO plans called for US Marines to land in Norway in support of the Norwegian Military.
In a move that bolsters this plan it has been announced that both HMS Albion and HMS Bulwark are no longer to be decommissioned - they have been granted a reprieve.
How this will actually come to fruition will be known when the latest review of British Defense posture (called the Modernizing Defense Program) is released. It is expected that the Document will be published before the end of October 2018. Britain and Norway are pooling their resources to defend the Northern Flank. How will the rest of the Alliance respond?
(Image: Russian Military Exercises - Sputnik International via Google Images)
