NATO drills in Iceland signal Europe’s readiness to act without US

NATO’s annual Northern Viking military exercises were held off the coast of Iceland in August, with US ships and aircraft absent from the drills for the first time in a decade, POLITICO reports.

The allies practiced tracking Russian submarines in the North Atlantic. The exercises involved German surveillance aircraft, Canadian naval vessels and Belgian fighter jets, while command of the drills was handed over to a French officer.

According to NATO, the exercises were intended to demonstrate to both alliance members and Russia that Europe is capable of operating in the region without US leadership.

“We see Europe and Canada stepping up, and we see it literally here in Iceland,” said Jónas Allansson, head of the Defense Directorate at Iceland’s Ministry for Foreign Affairs.

Despite the absence of US forces from the exercises, Washington has not ended its support. US military construction personnel are building new facilities at Keflavik Airport base and also participated in planning the drills.

By Jeyhun Aghazada