‘USS Harry S. Truman’ Sails into Arctic during Drills with Norway to Counter Growing Russian Influence

A U.S. nuclear aircraft carrier is operating in the Arctic for only the third time since the end of the Cold War. The USS Harry S. Truman strike group is conducting extended exercises with Norway and other NATO allies inside the Arctic Circle. The forces are sailing in Norway’s Vestfjorden near the Lofoten archipelago.  

“NATO might not have an Arctic Strategy, but the repeat appearance of a U.S. aircraft carrier taking part in training exercise above the Arctic Circle certainly points to a deepened commitment to North Atlantic security for the alliance,” says Elizabeth Buchanan, a polar geopolitics expert at Australian Strategic Policy Institute. The presence of a U.S. nuclear aircraft carrier in the Arctic remains a rare sight. In 1991 USS America operated in the region during NATO exercise North Star. It took almost thirty years for the next visit.

USS Harry S. Truman participated in NATO exercise Trident Juncture in 2019 followed by USS Gerald Ford last summer. Three visits by American aircraft carriers over the course of five years speak to the heightened tension in the region.

Buchanan notes that the aircraft carrier is unlikely to sail into the Barents Sea closer to Russia. “It is doubtful the West is going to poke the Russian bear by following this course.”

The Nordic exercise began last month with maneuvers further south in the Norwegian Sea and a highly visible visit by the aircraft carrier to Norway’s capital of Oslo. At the time it was unclear if the drills would move further north into Arctic waters. The current exercise includes Norwegian frigate HNoMS Roald Amundsen, as well as Italian and Danish frigates Carabiniere and HDMS Vædderen. British aircraft carrier HMS Prince Wales also participated.