As Trump criticizes America’s NATO allies, they practice pursuing Russian armed forces in the Arctic

Bergen, Norway – In the cold waters off the coast of Norway, America’s NATO allies probe deep into Russia’s secret operation.

The stretch of sea, considered the gateway to the Arctic, is where the high ground of northern Europe meets the high ground of Russia in the north, home of the Kremlin’s Northern Fleet.

Russian nuclear-armed submarines are regularly deployed from a major naval base on the country’s frigid Kola peninsula, gliding silently beneath the waves before heading for the North Atlantic.

CBS News joined the crew of a NATO warship participating in exercises aimed at finding, tracking and – if necessary – extracting these resources before they pass through the narrow gap in between. GreenlandIceland and the UK, and on to the eastern seaboard of the United States.

If war were to break out between Russia and the US and its NATO allies, this area would be a strategic deficit zone.

Commanders see Operation Arctic Dolphin – an operation involving ships, submarines and aircraft from Spain, Germany, France, the UK and many other nations – as vital to maintaining unity in a military alliance that has endured for 75 years.

“Norway has the great advantage of being part of such a large coalition,” said Commodore Kyrre Haugen, the Norwegian Fleet commander in charge of the Arctic Dolphin. “But all nations use the opportunity to be a part of something bigger than themselves.”

The commander said Norway has been active in the Arctic since the Cold War, and the “special focus” on the region now highlights how important it is to the security of Europe and the US.

“Those missiles can attack Europe, they can attack America by being placed in the sea, they all enter the Atlantic,” he said, referring to Russian weapons.

NATO exercises are just one part of the race to secure a region that has become “the front line of strategic competition,” according to US Air Force General Alexus Grynkewich, NATO’s joint commander in Europe.

Russia already uses the Arctic as a test site for its hypersonic missiles, which are designed to evade US air defenses.

But threats to the region’s sustainability have also emerged closer to home.

President Trump has angered NATO allies by repeatedly insisting the US needs to take ownership of Greenland – and by threatening last month to impose tariffs on allies if they don’t comply.

He he stepped back that threatens, announcing a “final long-term agreement” that is still being defined with America’s NATO allies in Greenland, but also they generally criticize those who cooperate with themaccusing them of not spending enough money on their defense.

Undoubtedly, the alliance is playing catch-up in the Arctic and high north. Seven of the eight Arctic regions are NATO Allies. Yet Russia, with more than half of the Arctic coast in its territory, has permanent bases in the region like all NATO members.

On the bridge of the Spanish frigate ESPS Almirante Juan de Borbon, the commander defended to CBS News the NATO contribution of Spain, Mr. Trump recently accused it of being “unfaithful” to the coalition.

“I will not get involved in politics,” said Rear Admiral Joaquín Ruiz Escagedo, before conferring with young military officers busy in front of maps and radar screens. “But I can say the contribution of Spain, you can see it here.”

Escagedo said the country has “many capabilities,” and is committed to NATO’s defense strategy.

“We cannot be divided. NATO’s strength is unity,” he said. “That is the success of NATO for decades.”

That unity is about to be tested with a new job.

NATO is planning a new Arctic Sentry mission for “enhanced surveillance” in the far north

The spokesperson of Gen. Grynkewich, the US NATO commander in Europe, confirmed to CBS News that the planning of missions in the Arctic region is ongoing.

Arctic Sentry will be an “enhanced surveillance mission to further strengthen NATO’s posture in the Arctic and the High North.”

A spokesperson told CBS News that planning for the new equipment “has just begun, but details will follow later.”

The possibility of an Arctic Sentry mission was first mentioned by a British diplomat last month, as part of talks that resolved Mr.

Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said the UK proposed working “with NATO on a new Arctic sentry, similar to what we already have with NATO – the Baltic Sentry and the Eastern Sentry,” referring to the existing regional security relationship between NATO partners.

“This is now going to be the focus of NATO, where the different Arctic countries come together and are supported by other NATO countries on how we do what is shared,” he told CBS News’ partner network, BBC News on Jan. 22.