by Ilya Tsukanov
Mars 8, 2025
Canada has approved a 20-year, $1.86 billion spending spree on military support hubs in Nunavut and the Northwest Territories. The money will be spent on airfields, logistics bases and new equipment. How does Canada’s Arctic defense buildup and regional strategy compare to those of other powers? Sputnik explores.
Russia
- Arctic strategy centered on coastal and air space defense and protection of maritime trade routes.
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Regional defense capabilities greater than all other Arctic powers combined, with over 100K troops permanently stationed at 40+ bases, at locations including Franz Josef Land, Novaya Zemlya and Wrangel Island.
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Major Army units include the 12K+ troop 200th and 80th Arctic Motorized Rifle Brigades, and the 10K+ troop Arctic Coastal Defense Forces. MiG-31 jets, S-400 and Bastion air, missile and coastal defense systems and early warning sites deployed.
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Northern Fleet’s Borei and Delfin-class boomers and Yasen and Shchuka-B cruise missile and attack subs patrol the area.
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40+ nuclear and diesel icebreakers aid power projection.
USA
- Strategy focused on missile defense, intelligence-gathering and surveillance, and since recently, a new effort to back up shelf claims against neighbors.
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Has 2 aging Arctic-ready icebreakers, the Polar Star and the Healy, but 3 new cutters under construction.
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Air and missile defense capabilities in Fairbanks and Anchorage, Alaska and Thule, Greenland. Army, Navy and Coast Guard sites at Fairbanks, Delta Junction and Kodiak. About 25,000 permanently stationed troops.
Canada
- “Sovereignty assertion” focus of military patrols, investment and international legal claims.
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Operates CFS Alert – the northernmost permanent base on Earth, on Ellesmere Island, plus Joint Task Force North HQ in Yellowknife, Nanisivik Naval Facility, CFB Goose Bay, four RCAF airfields, and early warning radar operated under NORAD.
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Fields 7 heavy and medium icebreakers and building 2 more.
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200-500 troops stationed in the Arctic at any given time. Troop numbers go up during annual “Operation Nanook” wargames.
Denmark
- Arctic strategy focused on sovereignty assertion in Greenland, the Faroe Islands, and the Arctic shelf via ground and naval patrols.
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200-300 troops stationed in the Arctic at any given time (plus 500 rotating personnel). Permanent presence at Joint Arctic Command in Nuuk, Greenland in addition to Sirius dog sled special forces excursions on the island.
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No Arctic icebreakers, but three Knud Rasmussen-class patrol vessels.
Norway
- Arctic strategy prioritizing role as a NATO forward base for ops against Russia, built on regular bloc ground, air and naval drills.
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About 3,500 permanent Arctic troops with Brigade Nord, Porsanger Battalion and Finnmark Land Defense. Air bases at Evenes, Andoya and Bardufoss, and naval facilities at Sortland and Bergen.
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Two icebreakers, plus three ice-capable patrol vessels.
Finland & Sweden
- No Arctic shelf claims of their own, but do possess land above the Arctic Circle. Strategies focused on sustaining military presence in the high north and abetting NATO.
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Sweden has three Arctic bases, plus an Arctic patrol air base at Lulea, Saab GoldenEye AEW&C patrols and a contingent of snowmobile troops. 5,000 troop permanent presence.
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Finland maintains the Jaeger Brigade of Arctic infantry in Lapland, a string of bases along the northern border with Russia, and the Rovaniemi Air Base for regional air ops. 3,000 active-duty Arctic troops, expandable to hundreds of thousands of draftees in an emergency.
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