Around 7,000 troops trained in Finland as part of exercise Cold Response, carrying out cold‑weather operations and testing joint tactics across deep snow, forests and frozen lakes. The exercise brought NATO Allies together to refine how they fight side by side in some of the coldest and most remote environments. It demonstrates that NATO can project strength, defend Allied territory and maintain a credible presence across the Arctic and the High North — even in the harshest conditions.
Exercise Cold Response forms part of Arctic Sentry, NATO’s newly established vigilance activity focused on the defence and security of the Arctic and the High North. The exercise took place in Norway and Finland from 9 to 20 March 2026, with over 30,000 personnel from 14 Allied countries training together across all domains: land, maritime, air, cyber and space.
Footage includes French Chasseurs Alpins soldiers manoeuvring through the dense Arctic forest; Swedish tanks advancing through the woods; US marines establishing field positions alongside Swedish forces; Finnish soldiers operating in Arctic terrain; US Marine Corps KC‑130J crews setting up a temporary refuelling point; and Finnish F/A‑18 Hornets being maintained and taking off. It also features soundbites from senior military leaders, including generals from Finland and Sweden, as well as senior officers from the US Marine Corps, Italy’s mountain troops and the French Chasseurs Alpins.
Transcript
SHOTLIST
(00:00) MEDIUM SHOT – SWEDISH TANKS ADVANCE THROUGH THE FOREST IN LAPLAND, FINLAND.
(00:08) VARIOUS SHOTS – A FRENCH SOLDIER CARRIES AN ANTI TANK WEAPON WHILE MOVING THROUGH DEEP SNOW.
(00:17) VARIOUS SHOTS – FRENCH SOLDIERS HOLD THEIR POSITION NEXT TO A TREE IN HARSH ARCTIC CONDITIONS.
(00:30) VARIOUS SHOTS – FRENCH SOLDIERS HOLD THEIR POSITION IN THE FOREST IN LAPLAND, FINLAND.
(00:48) MEDIUM SHOT – SWEDISH CV-90s ADVANCE THROUGH THE FOREST IN LAPLAND, FINLAND.
(00:54) VARIOUS SHOTS – SWEDISH TANKS MOVE THROUGH THE FOREST IN LAPLAND, FINLAND.
(01:51) VARIOUS SHOTS (MUTE) – FINNISH SOLDIERS MOVE THROUGH THE FOREST IN LAPLAND, FINLAND.
(02:13) VARIOUS SHOTS (MUTE) – FRENCH SOLDIERS MOVE THROUGH THE FOREST WITH ARCTIC VEHICLES AND SNOWMOBILES IN LAPLAND, FINLAND.
(02:27) VARIOUS SHOTS – US MARINES MOVE THROUGH LAPLAND, FINLAND, WITH HUMVEES.
(02:47) MEDIUM SHOT – US MARINES AND SWEDISH SOLDIERS HOLD THEIR POSITION AND OBSERVE THE EXERCISE.
(02:53) VARIOUS SHOTS – US MARINES AND SWEDISH SOLDIERS DISCUSS TACTICS AND MOVEMENT DURING THE EXERCISE.
(03:10) VARIOUS SHOTS – US MARINES DISCUSS TACTICS AND HOLD THEIR POSITION DURING THE EXERCISE.
(03:20) VARIOUS SHOTS – FINNISH AIR FORCE AIRCREW PREPARE F/A 18s FOR TAKEOFF.
(03:44) VARIOUS SHOTS – FINNISH AIR FORCE F/A 18s TAXI TO THE RUNWAY FOR TAKE-OFF.
(04:30) VARIOUS SHOTS – FINNISH AIR FORCE F/A 18 TAKES OFF.
(04:46) MEDIUM SHOT – US MARINES PREPARE A KC 130J FOR TAKE-OFF.
(04:52) VARIOUS SHOTS – US MARINES BOARD THE KC 130J AS THEY PREPARE FOR TAKE-OFF.
(05:21) VARIOUS SHOTS – FINNISH AIRCRAFT MECHANICS AND CONSCRIPTS MAINTAIN FINNISH AIR FORCE F/A 18s.
(06:14) VARIOUS SHOTS – US MARINES’ KC 130J TOUCHES DOWN AT ROVANIEMI AIR BASE.
(06:25) VARIOUS SHOTS – US MARINES UNLOAD FUEL FROM A KC 130J TO SUPPLY A TEMPORARY REFUELLING POINT AT ROVANIEMI AIR BASE.
(06:41) VARIOUS SHOTS – US MARINES OPERATE A TEMPORARY REFUELLING POINT AND UNLOAD FUEL FROM A KC 130J.
(06:53) SOUNDBITE – COLONEL SAKU JOUKAS, COMMANDER OF THE LAPLAND AIR WING (LAPIN LENNOSTO), FINNISH AIR FORCE
“Finnish Air Force is participating in the exercise to fly eight F/A-18s to practise air to air scenarios and air land integration, plus we are doing air-to-air refuelling.”
(07:07) SOUNDBITE – COLONEL SAKU JOUKAS, COMMANDER OF THE LAPLAND AIR WING (LAPIN LENNOSTO), FINNISH AIR FORCE
“Since Finnish Air Force is fully integrated and part of NATO, we are able to work better and deeper when it comes to intelligence, information-sharing, and actually operations.”
(07:19) SOUNDBITE – COLONEL SAKU JOUKAS, COMMANDER OF THE LAPLAND AIR WING (LAPIN LENNOSTO) , FINNISH AIR FORCE
“It's important to demonstrate the unity, the air power, and deterrence to keep the Arctic and the High North safe. It's really important for Finland and for the Allies.”
(07:31) SOUNDBITE – LIEUTENANT COLONEL JUSTIN FRICKIE, PLANS OFFICER, 2ND MARINE AIRCRAFT WING, , UNITED STATES MARINE CORPS
“This is a really great opportunity for us to come and work with our NATO Allies, to operate in a cold weather environment that we don't get to do much of at home. We've brought expeditionary refuelling capabilities with us, and we're contributing to the air campaign of this exercise by providing expeditionary refuelling to joint aircraft.”
(07:49) SOUNDBITE – LIEUTENANT COLONEL JUSTIN FRICKIE, PLANS OFFICER, 2ND MARINE AIRCRAFT WING, UNITED STATES MARINE CORPS
“There's very robust infrastructure here, really great host nation and host nation infrastructure. But we get an opportunity to practise what we do in other parts of the world at times. And in a conflict, we know that we won't always be able to count on the infrastructure that we've built and hardened. So in those cases, it's a really great opportunity to show that we are resilient, that we can come quickly and provide support to our Allies, and participate with our Allies and be a meaningful contributor to the team.”
(08:16) SOUNDBITE – LIEUTENANT COLONEL JUSTIN FRICKIE, PLANS OFFICER, 2ND MARINE AIRCRAFT WING, UNITED STATES MARINE CORPS
“The expeditionary refuelling capability that we brought here to Rovaniemi, the forward arming and refuelling point, it really demonstrates that we can show up just about anywhere, set up a fuel bladder system, and provide expeditionary refuelling to all kinds of joint aircraft.”
(08:30) SOUNDBITE – LIEUTENANT COLONEL JUSTIN FRICKIE, PLANS OFFICER, 2ND MARINE AIRCRAFT WING, UNITED STATES MARINE CORPS
“We have exercises like this at home too, where we invite our NATO Allies and other allies to come and exercise with us. But being able to leave our home stations where we're accustomed to doing our daily operations and come to a new environment like this, it really puts us through the challenges of rapid planning, of encountering new and novel solutions to be able to solve those problems with our friends, with our Allies, and prepare better for future conflicts.”
(08:54) SOUNDBITE – CAPTAIN LEESMAN, AIRFIELD OPERATIONS COMPANY COMMANDER, MARINE WING SUPPORT SQUADRON 273, UNITED STATES MARINE CORPS
“We've provided fuel to numerous different NATO Allies: the French, the Norwegians, the Finnish, the Swedes. And having the ability to do it from the ground and also via air.”
(09:04) SOUNDBITE – CAPTAIN LEESMAN, AIRFIELD OPERATIONS COMPANY COMMANDER, MARINE WING SUPPORT SQUADRON 273, UNITED STATES MARINE CORPS
“During Cold Response 26, we've had great opportunities to refuel our NATO Allies, such as the Norwegian F-35s, Finnish NH-90s, Swedish NH-90s, the Swedish JAS 39, the French Atlantique, and numerous other aircraft. It's been a great opportunity.”
(09:21) SOUNDBITE – BRIGADIER GENERAL MANU TUOMINEN, ASSISTANT CHIEF OF STAFF J7 TRAINING, FINNISH DEFENCE FORCES
“Arctic is a cornerstone of NATO's defence. The geography changed when Sweden and Finland joined NATO. We have to revise the plans, and now we are rehearsing those plans. And it's important to protect the northern flank and make sure that the transatlantic link over the Atlantic to the United States is in our hands.”
(09:44) SOUNDBITE – BRIGADIER GENERAL MANU TUOMINEN, ASSISTANT CHIEF OF STAFF J7 TRAINING, FINNISH DEFENCE FORCES
“We are learning a lot from other Allies. Every nation brings its culture, its military tactics, techniques, procedures. We learn from each other, the soldiers have good learning opportunity. And we can also in return, teach or show them how to operate in this very harsh climate.”
(10:04) SOUNDBITE – BRIGADIER GENERAL MICHAEL CARLÉN, COMMANDER OF THE SWEDISH FIRST DIVISION, SWEDISH ARMY
“Arctic Sentry and exercise Cold Response, it really highlights the importance to defend every inch of NATO territory. And for our part, operating here in the High North, under these conditions, being able to train in this environment is so important for us.”
(10:22) SOUNDBITE – BRIGADIER GENERAL MICHAEL CARLÉN, COMMANDER OF THE SWEDISH FIRST DIVISION, SWEDISH ARMY
“Cooperation with other NATO Allies has been excellent. From my side, I've been working very closely with our Finnish hosts to receive the division and being able to actually push further, but also in the division, we have had Finnish units and also United States marines, and they have been really integrated to our units. And I must say that this, that even though we work with a lot of hardware and systems, interoperability starts with the relations of humans. And that's how we build cohesion within the Alliance.”
(10:52) SOUNDBITE – BRIGADIER GENERAL MICHAEL CARLÉN, COMMANDER OF THE SWEDISH FIRST DIVISION, SWEDISH ARMY
“Interoperability wise, what I'm very proud of is how… example, the Swedish division collects Intel and then we send that to the Third Army Corps in Finland, and we're using their multi-rocket launch systems to destroy the targets, and vice versa. We also had Finnish information for the Swedish division using Finnish F/A-18s. So that's really examples on how we elevate our capabilities through each other.”
(11:21) SOUNDBITE – LIEUTENANT COLONEL ALESSANDRO, BATTALION COMMANDER OF THE 3RD MOUNTAIN TROOP REGIMENT, ITALIAN ARMY
“For us, it's very important to train in this environment because in Italy, we have similar conditions but not like this. We are mountain troops, we are used to work in cold weather and the mountains, but here the distances are higher and bigger. And so, for us it's just a little bit different from Italian environment. So for us, it's fundamental to be here and work with our Allies.”
(11:48) SOUNDBITE – LIEUTENANT COLONEL ALESSANDRO, BATTALION COMMANDER OF THE 3RD MOUNTAIN TROOP REGIMENT, ITALIAN ARMY
“We are inside a French battlegroup, we are used to work in the past with the French. We have a brigade level unit, with the Taurinense brigade and the Chasseurs des Alpes. And so we are used to work together, we already know each other. And so for us, it's important to be here to test our interoperability in this Finnish Arctic environment.”
(12:15) SOUNDBITE IN FRENCH – COLONEL ADRIEN CHANTREL, COMMANDING OFFICER OF THE 27TH CHASSEURS ALPINS BATTALION (CHEF DE CORPS DU 27E BATAILLON DE CHASSEURS ALPINS), FRENCH ARMY
“Security in the Arctic is important for France, as some of Europe and some of the NATO area lie within this Arctic region. So, within the framework of the Alliance, and in the interests of the security of our Allies and our neighbours, it is important for us to develop strong expertise in combat in the Arctic environment, and this is one of the specialties of the French mountain troops.”
(12:35) SOUNDBITE IN FRENCH – COLONEL ADRIEN CHANTREL, COMMANDING OFFICER OF THE 27TH CHASSEURS ALPINS BATTALION (CHEF DE CORPS DU 27E BATAILLON DE CHASSEURS ALPINS), FRENCH ARMY
“Here, we train with our Allies — mainly the Italians, who are integrated into our battlegroup, and the Finns, who are in the same brigade — to fight in an Arctic environment, to combat a mechanised enemy in these conditions, using all the resources available to us, just as we would operate in a real operation.”
(12:54) SOUNDBITE IN FRENCH – COLONEL ADRIEN CHANTREL, COMMANDING OFFICER OF THE 27TH CHASSEURS ALPINS BATTALION (CHEF DE CORPS DU 27E BATAILLON DE CHASSEURS ALPINS) , FRENCH ARMY
“The difference compared to training in France is that even though there’s always snow, it’s always cold, the fact that the terrain is quite different changes a lot. In France, we’re very much channelled to the main routes because of the terrain. Here, as everything is flat, everything is covered by forest or lakes, it is combat somewhat like at sea, we can go anywhere. So we manoeuvre quite differently from what we do in the Alps. It’s therefore very instructive for us to learn this with the Finns and Swedes.”
(13:24) SOUNDBITE IN FRENCH – COLONEL ADRIEN CHANTREL, COMMANDING OFFICER OF THE 27TH CHASSEURS ALPINS BATTALION (CHEF DE CORPS DU 27E BATAILLON DE CHASSEURS ALPINS) , FRENCH ARMY
“Our Allies who welcomed us here — especially the Finns and the Swedes — I would say they taught us two main things: regarding the environment, that is, how to survive for several weeks in this setting at temperatures that can reach -30 to -35. They have mastered this perfectly. And so it’s very valuable for us, in terms of water management, vehicle maintenance, and also how to fight in this environment. Can we cross this forest with the tanks? What about this lake? Will the ice on the lake be strong enough for us to cross it? The same goes for the armoured vehicles. These are highly specialised skills that are directly transmitted to us by our Swedish and Finnish Allies.”
(14:09) SOUNDBITE IN FRENCH – COLONEL ADRIEN CHANTREL, COMMANDING OFFICER OF THE 27TH CHASSEURS ALPINS BATTALION (CHEF DE CORPS DU 27E BATAILLON DE CHASSEURS ALPINS), FRENCH ARMY
“One of the main advantages of an exercise like this, a large-scale NATO exercise, is that not only do we train for combat, but we also get to know our Allies. It strengthens the mutual trust between us, as well as the camaraderie, friendship, and mutual respect we hold for one another. And that is very important for an alliance to be effective.”
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