NATO has launched Operation Arctic Guard to strengthen its military presence following the Greenland crisis

NATO launched Operation Arctic Guard on Wednesday to strengthen the alliance's military presence in the region, as a result of the agreement reached by US President Donald Trump and his Secretary General, Mark Rutte.

The Allied Operations Command (ACO) will be responsible for planning and implementing all NATO actions, activities and operations in the Arctic, thereby strengthening the Atlantic Alliance's positionsothat the entire Arctic region "remains safe".

NATO Supreme Allied Commander Alexus G. Grynkewichhas stressed that the "Arctic Guard" operation has underlined the Alliance's commitment to protecting its members and maintaining stability in one of the strategically significant and environmentally rigorous areas of the world. "

The US Air Force general added that this mission will use NATO's "strength" to "protect" the region from Russian military activity and China's growing economic interest in the area.

Integration of other missions

According to those responsible, this operation will give 'coherence' to other missions with a lower operational perspective from some Member States of the Alliance, such as Norway's' Cold Response 'manoeuvre or the Danish' Arctic Resistance 'exercise, in which eight European countries were also involved in the midst of the Greenland crisis and which provoked Trump's anger at the threat of new tariffs by his allies.

The "Arctic Guard" will be led by the Norfolk Joint Force Commandin the United Kingdom, whose area of responsibility covers the entire Arctic and the North Pole since December, in coordination with the Allied Operations Command, while coordinating activities with the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) and the North and European United States authorities.

According to the Supreme Allied Commander, the headquarters of Norfolk will act as a "bridge between North America and Europe" and will be "key" to defending strategic access between the two continents across the Arctic.