A huge display of British naval power has taken place in the Arctic. At the centre was Royal Navy aircraft carrier HMS Prince of Wales in the largest Arctic exercise for 30 years.
HMS Prince of Wales, which is serving as NATO’s command ship, sailed north to the Arctic for Exercise Cold Response 2022, a month-long test of allied forces involving 30,000 troops from 27 nations operating together. The regular exercise, which takes place every other year and planning for which began in December 2020, will involve more than twice as many personnel as the 14,000 planned for in Exercise Cold Response 2020.
During the weekend, a task force of 25 ships from 11 nations gathered close to Norway at the start of the training, including six Royal Navy ships and more than 2,000 UK military personnel. Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said: "The Arctic is becoming an area of increasing military competition and the security of the region is directly linked to our national security.
