In Europe’s far north, NATO allies are holding antisubmarine war games off Norway to practice detecting and defeating Russian submarines. The multinational, 12‑day exercise called Arctic Dolphin brings together ships, maritime patrol aircraft and crews from Norway, Spain, Germany and other partners to hone anti‑submarine warfare (ASW) skills in cold, confined waters that connect the Arctic to the Atlantic.
That stretch of ocean is strategically critical: it links Russia’s Northern Fleet and its ballistic‑missile submarines to the Atlantic, and would be a route for nuclear‑armed undersea forces in a major crisis. “If those submarines are getting into the Atlantic, they are posing a threat both to Europe, but also to the American homeland,” Commodore Kyrre Haugen, commander of the Norwegian fleet, said, underlining why NATO places a premium on coordinated ASW patrols and exercises.
Arctic Dolphin tests detection, tracking and coordinated response — integrating surface ships, maritime patrol planes and allied command‑and‑control — and stresses the need to synchronize sensors and assets across national boundaries. Cold water, seasonal ice and complex coastlines make the environment particularly challenging for both submarines and hunters; the exercise gives crews realistic practice operating in the high north’s unique conditions.
The drills come amid a broader pattern of Russian military activity in the Arctic: Moscow has been expanding its presence, deploying forces and using the region to test new long‑range and hypersonic weapons that are described as intended to complicate Western air and missile defenses. Those developments have raised allied concerns about freedom of movement and the security of North Atlantic sea lanes.
Political tensions between the United States and some NATO partners have also complicated the alliance’s diplomatic climate: statements by President Trump about acquiring Greenland, and threats to impose tariffs, prompted debate in Europe and raised questions about trust among allies. While those episodes strained relations, NATO militaries emphasize practical cooperation. Commodore Haugen said countries are stronger by working together and that defense relationships and interoperability remain essential despite political disagreements.
Reporters embedded on Norwegian ships saw allied platforms maneuvering to localize and prosecute simulated contacts, and they described how the exercise sharpens routines — making commanders more confident that, working together, NATO can detect and deter undersea threats before they reach open Atlantic transit routes.
Arctic Dolphin is one of several recent NATO and national activities designed to increase presence and readiness in northern seas. For participating navies and air forces, the exercise is both a technical test of ASW capability and a rehearsal in alliance coordination — essential preparation for any future challenge posed by a more assertive Russian posture in the Arctic.