Against the backdrop of snow-covered mountains of a Norwegian fjord an elite team of Plymouth commandos launch a raid in a small boat from a Royal Navy submarine.
UK forces used the largest winter exercise hosted in Norway in 30 years to demonstrate the unique combined capabilities of the Royal Marines and Submarine Service.
In Lyngenfjord, three dozen miles east of Tromso deep inside the Arctic Circle, the Surveillance and Reconnaissance Squadron launched small teams from an Astute-class hunter-killer submarine from Faslane in Scotland for ‘subsurface insertion’ missions.
Their aim: reconnaissance missions on the rocky, icy shoreline in sub-zero temperatures while avoiding the multi-national ‘enemy’ force hunting them.
The Surveillance and Reconnaissance Squadron – drawn from Stonehouse Barracks-based 30 Commando Information Exploitation Group – is a specialist team of commandos who forge the way ahead for their fellow green berets to follow.
They are trained to gather valuable information on the terrain, the enemy and suitable beach landing places for larger amphibious forces to come ashore, arriving by ski, snowmobile, boat, all-terrain vehicles, helicopter or parachute, depending on the situation and environment.
“Being able to move sub-surface gives us a discreet means of moving our specialist teams to any coastline in the world,” explained the SRS team leader.
“Not only can we conduct operations in isolation but by accessing and reconnoitring these complex coastlines by small craft we can set the conditions for larger, more lethal follow on forces.”
His deputy added:
“Working alongside the submarine was a great opportunity for us. In addition to the submarine work we also took the opportunity to operate alongside our Norwegian colleagues.
“We used one of their larger, faster craft to access areas out of range of our small craft, an excellent example of working together to achieve a common aim.”
Commodore Jim Perks, the head of the RN Submarine Service, said:
“The ability to operate undetected for significant periods of time with top quality kit ensures that a submarine remains a formidable delivery mechanism, in this case enabling the covert deployment of the Surveillance and Reconnaissance team as showcased in the exercises off Norway.
“Our ability to work together highlights the remarkable attributes of the team and the platforms in which we operate.”
The training in Lyngenfjord – a small but important phase of the Cold Response 2022 exercise – proved the usefulness of using submarines to access strategically important areas with small teams of highly-trained specialists without being detected. It was also part of wider intensive raiding and reconnaissance operations the UK’s commandos have been carrying out in northern Norway during Cold Response.
This year’s exercise is the largest of its kind for more than 30 years and has involved 30,000 military personnel from 27 nations including Norwegians, US, Dutch, French, Italians and Germans.
