Royal Marines have been showing Norwegian troops how commandos storm shorelines on amphibious raids in the fjords of the Arctic Circle.
In blizzard conditions, the fast raiding boats of Plymouth-based 47 Commando tore through the icy waters with Norwegian troops from Brigade Nord.
Royal Marines Offshore Raiding Craft, which can reach speeds of up to around 50mph, sped towards the beach backed by landing craft before the joint forces brought their fire and fury onto the land.
“Bilateral activity with Norwegian forces is the focus of our training here in the high north,” explained Captain Jack Denniss of 47 Commando’s 539 Raiding Squadron.
“It’s not just about developing our own skills in these extreme environments, it’s about ensuring that we can operate seamlessly with our NATO allies in the most testing conditions.”
The hardy commandos and Norwegians were exposed to 25mph gusts, white-out conditions and temperatures as low as -20C on their fjord mission.
It is all vital training to ensure that Norway and the Royal Marines can operate effectively together and understand the tactics utilised by elite commandos during amphibious sorties.
Of course, sharing information and tactics with allies is nothing new but remains key as the corps evolves for future missions as part of their Future Commando Force development programme.
The marines are returning to working in small, highly versatile and lethal teams which disrupt enemy forces from the sea. They are also embracing new tech and kit.
Capt Denniss added: “The Royal Marines are re-rolling into smaller, disaggregated teams as we move toward the Future Commando Force concept.
“These teams will be highly flexible, able to integrate with allied forces to amplify their effectiveness.
“As we move toward this, continued training with our partner nations is developing cohesion in strategically important regions.”
47 Commando are currently deployed in northern Norway, at the fjord at Hellarbogen. They are preparing for Norwegian-led NATO war games, Exercise Cold Response, later this month alongside 45 Commando, 30 Commando Information Exploitation Group and other Royal Marines units.
