Some 50,000 troops will kick off NATO's biggest military exercises since the Cold War on Thursday (October 25) in Norway, a massive show of force that has already rankled neighboring Russia.
Trident Juncture 18, which runs until November 7, is aimed at training the Alliance to mobilize quickly to defend an ally under attack.
The head of NATO's Allied Joint Force Command, US Navy Admiral James Foggo, said the exercise was intended to "show NATO is capable to defend against any adversary – not a particular country, anyone."
Russia, which carried out its biggest ever military exercises in September in the Far East, has not been officially identified as the intended adversary, but it is on everyone's minds after the 2014 Ukraine crisis.
"Russia doesn't represent a direct military threat to Norway," said Norwegian defense minister Frank Bakke-Jensen.
"But in a security situation as complicated as we have today... an incident elsewhere could very well heighten tensions in the North and we want to prepare the Alliance in order to avoid any unfortunate incidents," he added.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg (C) speaks with captain Nicholas J. Dienna on the bridge of the US Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman in the North Sea, October 12, 2018. /VCG Photo
The exercises come after US President Donald Trump has repeatedly complained that other NATO members do not contribute enough money to the 69-year-old alliance, although Defense Secretary James Mattis reassured allies of America's "iron-clad" commitment earlier this month.
New Cold War threats?
While the exercises will take place at a respectful distance from Norway's 198-kilometer border with Russia in the Arctic, Moscow has expressed anger over the maneuvers.
Russia was already touchy over the fact that – independently of Trident Juncture 18 – the United States and Britain have been increasing their troop presence in the Scandinavian country to acclimatize them to combat in the chilly Arctic.
Tensions between Moscow and Washington have flared in recent days after Trump announced he was abandoning a Cold War-era nuclear treaty, a move which Russia warned could cripple global security.
When at full strength, 700 US Marines will be on rotation on Norwegian soil.
"The main NATO countries are increasing their military presence in the region, near Russia's borders," Russian foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said, slamming "the sabre-rattling."
"Such irresponsible actions are bound to lead to a destabilization of the political situation in the North, to heighten tensions," she said, vowing Moscow would "take the necessary retaliatory measures to ensure its security."
British and Irish soldiers pause to check equipment after they disembark a car ferry in the port of Rotterdam, Netherlands, October 10, 2018. /VCG Photo
"Russia's military strength has pretty much returned to what it was during the Cold War," said Francois Heibsbourg of France's Foundation for Strategic Research (FRS).
"In a way, NATO is also in the process of returning to what it was."
"It's a pretty mechanical engagement," a "return to a kind of choreography," he said. But Trident Juncture 18 is "in no way destabilizing," he added.
The exercises, involving NATO's 29 members plus Sweden and Finland, are nonetheless imposing, with substantial means deployed.
The 50,000 troops will be backed by 10,000 vehicles, 250 aircraft and 60 ships, including a US aircraft carrier.
(Top image: Dutch soldiers depart with a KDC-10 tank and transport device from Eindhoven Airport in Eindhoven, the Netherlands to participate in the NATO exercise Trident Juncture, October 19, 2018. /VCG Photo)
