Circumpolar Military Facilities of the Arctic Five
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CIRCUMPOLAR MILITARY FACILITIES OF THE ARCTIC FIVE Ernie Regehr, O.C. Senior Fellow in Arctic Security and Defence The Simons Foundation and Michelle Jackett, M.A. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Circumpolar Military Facilities of the Arctic Five – last updated: September 2017 Ernie Regehr, O.C., and Michelle Jackett, M.A. Circumpolar Military Facilities of the Arctic Five Introduction This compilation of current military facilities in the circumpolar region1 continues to be offered as an aid to addressing a key question posed by the Canadian Senate more than five years ago: “Is the [Arctic] region again becoming militarized?”2 If anything, that question has become more interesting and relevant in the intervening years, with commentators divided on the meaning of the demonstrably accelerated military developments in the Arctic – some arguing that they are primarily a reflection of increasing military responsibilities in aiding civil authorities in surveillance and search and rescue, some noting that Russia’s increasing military presence is consistent with its need to respond to increased risks of things like illegal resource extraction, terrorism, and disasters along its frontier and the northern sea route, and others warning that the Arctic could indeed be headed once again for direct strategic confrontation.3 While a simple listing of military bases, facilities, and equipment, either based in or available for deployment in the Arctic Region, is not by itself an answer to the question of militarization, an understanding of the nature and pace of development of military infrastructure in the Arctic is nevertheless essential to any informed consideration of the changing security dynamics of the Arctic. What follows relies on a broad range of media, government, academic, and research centre sources, all of which are indicated in the footnotes.4 This paper is regarded as a “work in progress” and continues to be updated as new information and changes in military posture and engagement relative to the Arctic become available. Comments, corrections, further information, and suggestions for additional sources are all most welcome. Please send any such comments, corrections, and additions to: Ernie Regehr Senior Fellow in Arctic Security and Defence The Simons Foundation Mobile: 519-591-4421 Home Office: 519-579-4735 Email: [email protected] 1 The current list is confined to the five Arctic Ocean states, but the intention is to expand it to include all the states of the Arctic Council. 2 Standing Senate Committee on National Security and Defence, “Sovereignty and Security in Canada’s Arctic: Interim Report,” The Honourable Pamela Wallin, Chair; The Honourable Romeo Dallaire, Deputy Chair, March 2011. http://www.parl.gc.ca/Content/SEN/Committee/403/defe/rep/rep07mar11-e.pdf 3 These perspectives, for example, are reflected in four recent papers from the Arctic Institute linked to a June 15 discussion in Washington on circumpolar security cooperation. http://www.thearcticinstitute.org 4 Of particular initial value have been and remain the following: Huebert, Rob, “The Newly Emerging Arctic Security Environment,” March 2010, Canadian Defence and Foreign Affairs Institute. http://www.cdfai.org/PDF/The%20Newly%20Emerging%20Arctic%20Security%20Environment.pdf Huebert, Rob; Exner-Pirot, Heather; Lajeunesse, Adam; Gulledge, Jay, “Climate Change and International Security: The Arctic as a Bellwether,” Center for Climate and Energy Solutions, May 2012, http://www.c2es.org/docUploads/arctic-security-report.pdf Defence Watch, the column/blog of David Pugliese in the Ottawa Citizen. http://ottawacitizen.com/category/news/defence-watch Standing Senate Committee on National Security and Defence, “Sovereignty and Security in Canada’s Arctic: Interim Report,” The Honourable Pamela Wallin, Chair; The Honourable Romeo Dallaire, Deputy Chair, March 2011. http://www.parl.gc.ca/Content/SEN/Committee/403/defe/rep/rep07mar11-e.pdf Siemon T. Wezeman, “Military Capabilities in the Arctic,” SIPRI Background Paper, March 2012. http://books.sipri.org/product_info?c_product_id=442 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Circumpolar Military Facilities of the Arctic Five – last updated: September 2017 Ernie Regehr, O.C., and Michelle Jackett, M.A. 1 QUICK LINKS: Circumpolar Military Facilities of CANADA Page 6 Circumpolar Military Facilities of the USA Page 34 Circumpolar Military Facilities of RUSSIA Page 47 Circumpolar Military Facilities of NORWAY Page 72 Circumpolar Military Facilities of DENMARK Page 80 Joint Exercises Page 84 Arctic Forums Page 89 Other Projects Involving the Arctic Page 93 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Circumpolar Military Facilities of the Arctic Five – last updated: September 2017 Ernie Regehr, O.C., and Michelle Jackett, M.A. 2 Contents CANADA 6 1. Security Assets based in the North for Operations in the North 6 1.1 Bases (including stations, naval facilities, radar sites, etc.) 6 1.2 Equipment 8 1.3 Organizations and Operational Units (personnel) 11 1.4 Policy Units and Regulators 14 2. Security Assets based in the South for Operations in the North 15 2.1 Bases (including stations, naval facilities, radar sites, etc) 15 2.2 Equipment 15 2.3 Organizations and Operational Units (personnel) 30 3. Recurring Operations and Exercises 31 USA 34 1. Security Assets available for Operations in the North 34 1.1 Bases 34 1.2 Equipment 38 1.3 Organizations and Operational Units (personnel) 42 2. Recurring Operations and Exercises 44 RUSSIA 47 1. Security Assets available for Operations in the North 47 1.1 Bases (including stations, naval facilities, radar sites, etc.) 47 1.2 Equipment 51 1.3 Organizations and Operational Units (personnel) 67 2. Recurring Operations and Exercises 69 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Circumpolar Military Facilities of the Arctic Five – last updated: September 2017 Ernie Regehr, O.C., and Michelle Jackett, M.A. 3 NORWAY 72 1. Security Assets available for Operations in the North 72 1.1 Bases (including stations, naval facilities, radar sites, etc) 72 1.2 Equipment 74 1.2 Organizations and Operational Units (personnel) 78 2. Recurring Operations and Exercises 79 DENMARK 80 1. Security Assets available for Operations in the North 80 1.1 Bases (including stations, naval facilities, radar sites, etc.) 80 1.2 Equipment 80 1.3 Organizations and Operational Units (personnel) 82 2. Recurring Operations and Exercises 83 JOINT EXERCISES 84 Exercise Amalgam Dart 84 Operation Arctic Anvil 84 Operation Arctic Chinook 84 Arctic Council SAR Table Top Exercise 84 Exercise Barents Rescue 85 CTBTO – The Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty Organization 85 Operation Cold Response 85 Operation FRUKUS 86 Forward Joint Navy Exercise: U.S., Russia, and Norway 86 Forward Rosneft Arctic Projects 86 Greenland SAR Exercise 86 Iceland Airborne Surveillance 86 Joint Tabletop Review for Crystal Serenity’s Arctic voyage 87 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Circumpolar Military Facilities of the Arctic Five – last updated: September 2017 Ernie Regehr, O.C., and Michelle Jackett, M.A. 4 Operation NANOOK 87 Northern Eagle Naval Exercises 87 Exercise Polar Roar 87 Exercise POMOR 87 US Air National Guard exercise in Finland 88 Operation Vigilant Eagle 88 Operation Vigilant Shield 17 88 ARCTIC FORUMS 89 The Arctic Circle 89 Arctic Coast Guard Forum 89 Arctic Economic Council 90 Arctic Five 90 Arctic Frontiers 91 International Cooperative Engagement Program for Polar Research (ICE-PPR 91 Northern Forum 92 OTHER PROJECTS INVOLVING THE ARCTIC 93 Arctic Fibre 93 China and the Arctic 93 European Union: “France wants EU Empire to Expand into Arctic Circle” 93 IMO: Adopts Polar Code Safety Requirements 94 IMO Arctic Training 94 Interactive Arctic Risk Map 94 Japan and the Arctic: 94 Japan: Independent underwater vehicle Urashima developed by JAMSTEC 94 Robot Army to Study the Arctic 94 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Circumpolar Military Facilities of the Arctic Five – last updated: September 2017 Ernie Regehr, O.C., and Michelle Jackett, M.A. 5 CANADA 1. Security Assets based in the North for Operations in the North 1.1 Bases (including stations, naval facilities, radar sites, etc.) Yellowknife, Northwest Territories 5 Joint Taskforce North (JTFN) 6 1st Canadian Ranger Patrol Group (under JTFN) 7 440 Transport Squadron (under JTFN) Whitehorse, Yukon 8 JTFN detachment Alert, Nunavut 9 Canadian Forces Station (CFS) Alert , open since the late 1950s Usually approximately 25 Canadian Forces personnel stationed there, plus 30 civilian support personnel and up to four Environment Canada staff DND planning $13M-$15M in energy efficiency upgrades at Alert, along with