Arctic buildup: U.S. Air Force deploys B-1 bomber squadron to Norway for first time

The Pentagon this week dispatched a B-1 Lancer bomber squadron to Norway, military officials said Tuesday, with the first-ever deployment serving as the latest example of how the U.S. is ramping up its presence in the Arctic region amid growing competition with Russia.

As part of the deployment, 200 Air Force personnel will be stationed at Norway’s Orland Air Base along the country’s western coast. The crew, officials said, is part of an advance team laying the groundwork for scheduled missions over the next several weeks.

“Operational readiness and our ability to support Allies and partners and respond with speed is critical to combined success,” Gen. Jeff Harrigian, commander of U.S. Air Forces in Europe and Africa, said in a statement. “We value the enduring partnership we have with Norway and look forward to future opportunities to bolster our collective defense.”

U.S. European Command was tight-lipped on the details of the mission, though officials did say that training for the Air Force personnel in Norway “will include a variety of areas ranging from operating in the high north to improving interoperability with allies and partners across the European theater.”

The U.S. has tens of thousands of troops stationed across Europe, but the Norway deployment is noteworthy because it underscores the Pentagon’s effort to strengthen its footprint in and around the Arctic circle. Russia also is beefing up its military presence in the Arctic, and analysts generally agree that the region could be a major battleground in 21st-century great power competition over the coming decades.

Melting sea ice in the Arctic also is opening up new shipping lanes, potentially turning the area into a major economic hub as well.

The U.S. and its allies have warned that Russia is seeking to dominate the Arctic, both militarily and economically. Officials have warned that Moscow will use its strategic edge — which includes a massive fleet of roughly 40 icebreaker ships, compared to America’s two — to exert control.

Officials have said the U.S. could use “freedom-of-navigation” missions in the region to ensure access to international waters and send a strong signal to Russia.

“It’s sort of the same situation in the South China Sea that when we look at freedom of navigation operations and the ability to operate in international waters, the United States claims the right to be able to do that,” former Navy Secretary Kenneth Braithwaite told the news outlet Breaking Defense last month, shortly before the Biden administration came to power on Jan. 20.

“That takes us up into the Barents [Sea], and then takes us around the Barents and up towards the Kola Peninsula to be more present in that part of the world. Again, where sea lanes open up in the northern passage becomes navigable, the U.S. Navy is going to guarantee that freedom of navigation exists for our partners,” he said.