Nearly 5,000 NATO troops would take part in anti-submarine warfare exercises off its coast in early May, amid growing regional unease over suspected submarine sightings, Norwegian military said.
Submarines, surface ships and aircraft will operate in the exercise, dubbed "Dynamic Mongoose," from May 4 to 13 in the North Sea and Skagerrak, a strait between Norway, Sweden and Denmark, according to a statement posted on the Norwegian Armed Forces' official website.
The drills will take place against a backdrop of growing Russian military activity in the region, and as Moscow and NATO face their worst crisis since the Cold War due to the conflict in Ukraine, says a report in AP.
Neighbouring Finland, which is not a member of the military alliance, said on Tuesday that its navy had fired warning shots at a possible submarine in the waters off Helsinki.
NATO will practice anti-submarine warfare in the air, on the surface and underwater. The Flag Commander points out that it is challenging to find submarines along the Norwegian coast. He believes the exercise, therefore, is a good venue for getting better at this kind of operation in Norwegian waters.
"Norway is an attractive place to train and practice for foreign forces," Commodore Ole Morten Sandquist, chief of the Norwegian Navy's combat force, was quoted as saying. "It is important for Norway that NATO is good for anti-submarine operations in our region."