As reported by the Barents Observer, UK Defense Secretary John Healey and Norwegian Defense Minister Tore Sandvik have signed a new defense agreement enabling the navies of both countries to operate side-by-side in the North Atlantic. The bilateral agreement includes sharing maintenance facilities, technology, and equipment, collaboration on the development of new undersea warfare systems, and joint exercises and training. The partnership is aimed at protecting critical undersea infrastructure. (Barents Observer)
The new defense agreement between the UK and Norway highlights the deepening of security ties between the two countries in the High North. The nations have had a long history of defense cooperation and shared interests, both bilaterally and in multilateral frameworks, such as NATO, the Joint Expeditionary Force, and the Northern Group. However, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the changing security situation in the Arctic have led to an even greater focus on the UK-Norway defense relationship. In recent years, the countries have concluded several defense agreements, including the establishment of an Arctic hub and forward operating base for British Royal Marines Commandos in Northern Norway, known as Camp Viking.
The installation is central to the UK’s cold-weather warfare training, and its strategic location allows British forces to rapidly respond to protect NATO’s northern flank. The latest partnership builds on these previous efforts and further enhances Norwegian and British capabilities in the region. Most notably, the Royal Marines will train year-round in Norway, and both navies aim to develop a combined Norwegian-British frigate fleet that will operate seamlessly as one. These historic measures not only address critical vulnerabilities and emerging threats in the Arctic but also reinforce the ever-closer security relationship between the UK and Norway, which serves as an important anchor of NATO’s presence in the High North. (Government of Norway, High North News, The Defense Post)
Source – https://www.thearcticinstitute.org/arctic-week-take-five-week-1-december-2025/
