Seven NATO member nations participated in an exercise based in Iceland, focused on safeguarding critical underwater communication lines and maritime routes from conventional military threats and sabotage activities.

The annual Northern Viking exercise concluded on September 3, following 11 days of collaborative operations in the maritime corridor known as the GIUK gap, which stands for Greenland, Iceland, and the United Kingdom.

This region serves as a crucial naval chokepoint, linking two expanses of Open Ocean to three land masses, essential for naval and air traffic between Europe and North America.

Under the leadership of U.S. Naval Forces Europe, the training involved 1,200 personnel from Iceland, Denmark, France, Norway, Poland, and Portugal, as stated by the Icelandic government.

The missions simulated threats to Iceland’s national security, aimed at evaluating NATO’s capacity to address crises that jeopardize strategic communication lines in the GIUK gap. Activities included anti-surface and anti-submarine warfare, maritime surveillance, and search-and-rescue operations.

Allied forces utilized a variety of drones, maritime patrol aircraft, surface vessels equipped with advanced radars and sensors, as well as ships from NATO’s Standing Maritime Group One, which is part of the alliance’s rapid response maritime capability.

The exercise also sought to address traditional military threats across land, sea, and air, alongside complex threats and sabotage attempts that would challenge Icelandic authorities, according to the government’s announcement.

The GIUK gap, situated at the periphery of the eastern Arctic, remains a focal point of geopolitical tensions, as various nations vie for increased ownership and control over its resources.

The rapid melting of Arctic sea ice due to climate change has led to the emergence of new shipping routes, intensifying competition among Arctic nations—including the United States, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Russia, and Sweden—as well as non-Arctic countries.