Trident Juncture 2018 held between October 25–November 7 has just concluded.
This is the largest NATO exercise since the Cold War.
29 NATO countries along with 2 non-NATO nations Sweden and Finland participated in the exercise.
The exercise consists of 50,000 personnel, 65 ships, 250 aircraft, and 10,000 vehicles.
The United States made its presence felt as it sent USS Harry S. Truman strike group,
first time since 1987.
In this video, Defense Updates analyzes why NATO’S Trident Juncture is a strong message for Russia?
Let's get started.
Russia has concluded two major exercises Zapad in 2017 & Vostok in 2018.
These represent a militarily resurgent Russia and as per military strategists are aimed
directly at NATO.
Russia has also increased its military presence in the Arctic.
It has upgraded many Soviet-era bases, as well as build new once.
It has beefed up its fleet of around 40 icebreakers with an addition of 12 new once some of which
are nuclear powered.
It now has a full-fledged Arctic command and new Arctic brigade combat teams.
Russia's neighbors have also witnessed a more aggressive stance from it.
There has been an increase in airspace intrusion as well as an increased submarine activity.
Nations like Finland, Estonia, Latvia have been growing increasingly concerned.
During the NATO summit in Wales in 2014, it was decided to organize large-scale military
exercises.
Exercise Trident Juncture was one of these exercises.
Its first edition was conducted in Portugal and Spain in 2015.
This second edition is held in Norway after NATO accepted Norway’s offer to host this exercise.
As per NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, Trident Juncture comes in as a response to
deteriorating security condition in Europe
Russia’s recent behaviors have not gone unnoticed and they seem to have galvanized
NATO & several other nations.
Here are some important developments:
1. Sweden hosted U.S. Air Force F-16 fighters and contributed about 2,200 soldiers to the exercise.
Sweden which not a NATO member is getting ever increasingly closer to becoming a full-time
NATO member.
Recently polls have indicated that more than 50% of its citizens favor full NATO membership.
The country has taken many steps to increase it defense preparedness.
It has decided to increase defense spendings by around 1% of its GDP.
The increased budget will be used to buy 60 next-generation Saab Grippen fighter jets
and more submarines.
The Swedish government has also decided to increase the troop numbers from current 50,000
to 120,000 in the coming days.
2. Finland which like Sweden has been a neutral country.
But it is also changing its posture and could be a full-time NATO member in the coming days.
It has offered an air base 150 kilometers from Russia’s Kola Peninsula and contributed
significant air power along with 2,400 personnel to the exercise.
3. Iceland has reopened Keflavik air base which was closed in 2006.
The U.S is spending $35 million in upgrades to Keflavik and once the work is complete,
it will be able to host.
Poseidon P-8A maritime patrol aircraft.
The P 8A is capable of detecting and engaging submarines and hence will be an excellent
counter to Russia’s increasing submarine presence in the Arctic.
4. Poland’s Ministry of Defense has recently announced that will have a new division with
3 brigades in the eastern part of its territory which is around 100 km from the Belarus border.
It has offered to pay $2 billion to have a permanent U.S. military presence on its territory
5. The UK is poised to play a more proactive role after a recent parliamentary report indicated
that Britain should beef up its muscle in this region.
As an initial step, the UK has decided that it will make the current practice of sending
Royal Marines to Norway permanent.
The UK sends around 800 Royal Marines for cold weather training and these troops are
trained to integrate into Norway's defense plans.
6. Norway which is hosting the exercise is using it to increase preparedness and improve cooperation
between the military and the civilian authorities.
Norwegian authorities feel that through this they will be in a better position to respond
to any crisis.
Trident Juncture exercise has many aspects like enabling better coordination and acclimatization
to harsh weather conditions.
But the most important as aspect is the political messaging.
Though NATO leaders have stressed that Trident Juncture is strictly a defensive exercise,
it is clearly designed to put up a united front against Russia.
Tensions between NATO & Russia has increased in recent times and Moscow has made its displeasure
regarding this exercise well known.
On October 24, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said, "NATO's military activities near
our borders have reached the highest level since the Cold War.”
He added that Trident Juncture will be "simulating offensive military action.”