More NATO warships to Northern Norway
Several naval vessels are sailing in the Ofoten area and will make port calls to Narvik
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Last week, Russia’s Northern Fleet launched its largest alarm-exercise in ten years. 36 naval vessels sailed out in the Barents Sea, additional to aircraft and coastal weapons. The exercise was not notified to Norway and will last until the end of this week.
This week, NATO warships are sailing in the waters outside Narvik, the local newspaper Fremover reports. Up to eight Norwegian and foreign naval vessels are set to make port calls to Narvik.
Press spokesperson, Lt. Col. Ivar Moen with the Joint Head Quaters outside Bodø confirms the presence, but will not tell details.
«There are allied presence in Ofoten this week. Similar activities have taken place every year over the last few years, so this has long been planned,» Moen tells to the Barents Observer.
NATO’s QRA moved to Banak
In connection with the Russian exercise, several figheter jets from the Kola Peninsula have been outside Northern Norway this weekend. The Tromsø-based newspaper Nordlys writes about Norwegian F-16 fighter jets being scrambled both Saturday and Sunday to meet the Russian military aircraft northwest the coast of Troms and Finnmark.
On Monday, Norway’s TV2 reports F-16 fighter jets from Bodø Air Station now being depolyed to Banak airport in Finnmark. Banak is closer to the Barents Sea where the Russian exercise takes place and the figther jets were on several missions Sunday.
The two F-16s are NATO’s Quick Reaction Alert (QRA) in the north.
