The training comes as defence ministers from the UK-led coalition meet in Keflavik, Iceland, with Canadian and Ukrainian ministers also attending. Their agenda includes Canada’s application to join the JEF Framework, closer cooperation against hybrid threats, industrial collaboration and support for Ukraine.
The UK Ministry of Defence said the North Atlantic and High North are vital to national security, with data cables connecting Britain to the world and energy infrastructure supplying homes and businesses. Protecting that infrastructure formed a central part of the training, alongside strengthening joint command and control.
Royal Marines from the UK’s Special Operations Maritime Task Group trained alongside Danish forces in the Faroe Islands, conducting the first exercise there since the Second World War. They practised maritime interdictions, amphibious landings and vertical ascent techniques on islands that hosted a key Royal Marines deployment during that conflict.
“The North Atlantic, High North, and Baltic are the frontline of the UK’s security, which is why British leadership of the Joint Expeditionary Force is so vital to our defence,” Defence Secretary Wes Streeting said. “From conducting amphibious landings on the Faroe Islands, to deploying a standing headquarters north of the Arctic Circle, our recent JEF exercises have shown how Britain is working with our allies to enhance NATO’s defence of the region in the face of rising Russian threats.”
Lion Protector began in August with a rehearsal of a multinational maritime escort operation stretching the length of the Baltic Sea. Warships and aircraft from Denmark, Latvia, Sweden and the UK escorted a Danish vessel carrying military equipment to Latvia.
The operation tested how quickly the JEF could coordinate activity across sea, land, air, cyber and space. The UK’s Standing Joint Force Headquarters deployed north of the Arctic Circle in Norway to coordinate operations across the High North and Baltic Sea and test its ability to command allied forces at speed and range.
Ministers in Iceland will discuss further support for Ukraine through the JEF-Ukraine Enhanced Partnership. The summit follows the leaders’ meeting in Helsinki in March, where members agreed to reinforce their support through delivery of that partnership.
“I was also delighted that we welcomed our Canadian and Ukrainian counterparts to the summit as JEF seeks to expand its cooperation with these crucial allies,” Streeting said. Canada and Ukraine already cooperate closely with the coalition.
The JEF comprises high-readiness forces from the UK, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden. It is configured to respond rapidly to crises in support of NATO security across the Baltic Sea, North Atlantic, Arctic and High North.
The Iceland summit also builds on talks earlier in the week between the UK Prime Minister and Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Støre about the hybrid threat posed by Russia. Lion Protector comes ahead of the Atlantic Future Forum and the International Sea Power Conference, both taking place in Oslo in November.
