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Royal Marines hitch a submarine ride for daring Arctic fjord raiding mission
11 March 2026
Royal Marines emerged from the icy depths of an Arctic fjord on a German submarine to carry out a daring commando operation as part of major NATO mission rehearsals.
Commandos surfaced around 200 miles inside the Arctic Circle aboard attack submarine U-35 as part of Cold Response 26, the largest military drills for the alliance in the region this year involving 14 nations and more than 25,000 troops.
The expert marines – part of specialist units designed to carry out reconnaissance and direct naval gunfire from behind enemy lines – slipped silently away on inflatable raiding craft from U-35 to conduct their mission before returning and disappearing beneath the waves.
The aim of the mission was to slip in unseen and remain hidden while reconnoitering ‘enemy’ positions, calling in naval gunfire from allied warships before making a stealthy getaway.
It was conducted by specialist elements of the UK’s highly skilled Commando Force: The Surveillance and Reconnaissance Squadron (SRS), Shore Reconnaissance Troop (SRT) and 148 Commando Forward Observation Battery.
Second in command of SRS, whose identity cannot be revealed for operational reasons, said: “In the High North’s harsh and unforgiving domain, where extreme climatic conditions and adversary vigilance dominate, the ability to covertly insert reconnaissance teams ashore via Inflatable Raiding Craft (IRC) launched from a submarine is indispensable.
“It delivers the stealthy edge needed to penetrate denied areas, deny the enemy sanctuary, collect vital intelligence on subsurface and littoral threats and shape the operational environment before any escalation.
“This insertion capability from below the waves provides critical initiative to NATO in one of the planet’s most strategically contested regions.”
The SRS and SRT are at the very tip of the Royal Marines spear, trained to conduct operations in advance of the main allied force, carrying out raiding, reconnaissance and surveying missions to pave the way forward. They are essentially the eyes and ears of the Commando Force.
Meanwhile, 148 Battery are specially qualified in calling artillery, naval gunfire control and airstrikes to support the Commando Force and UK Special Forces. They are experts in covert insertion, patrols behind enemy lines, concealment, encrypted communications and battle damage assessment.
Their mission in Norway saw them observe an enemy radar installation, calling in NATO destroyers to smash the facility to render the adversary blind to task group manoeuvres off the Norwegian coast.
A Team Leader from 148 Battery, whose identity cannot be revealed for operational reasons, said: “We regularly train with NATO Special Operations Forces partners to practise naval fire support, but it’s been great getting re-qualified in this insertion method.
“Serials like this are similar to our historical roots dating back to the Falklands where 148 delivered naval gunfire prior to the retaking of the islands. Combining naval gunfire support with this is a key skill to support operations in the high north.”
Carrying out this mission along Norway’s lengthy, rugged coastline is essential to the UK being able to execute crucial operations for NATO in a hugely strategic part of the world.
It’s all part of a major UK deployment to the Arctic Circle, which has seen around 1,500 commandos operate in Northern Norway since January, building up to Cold Response 26 aimed at the defence of the alliance’s northern flank.