BRUSSELS - Up to 35,000 soldiers will take part in Nato military drills across Norway this year - the largest the country has seen since the Cold War.
The Scandinavian nation, which shares an Arctic border with Russia, will host troops from 30 countries during Trident Juncture, scheduled for October and November.
More than 120 aircraft, 70 ships and 10,000 vehicles will participate in the training exercises, which come amid heightened tensions between Moscow and the West.
Operations will take place in surrounding areas of the North Atlantic and the Baltic Sea, including Iceland, and the airspace of Finland and Sweden.
Air, land, maritime, special operation forces and amphibious forces will also participate in what is one of the biggest Nato exercises in recent years.
Frank Sølvsberg, spokesperson for Trident Juncture, said the drills will be three times larger than any other prior military exercise carried out in Norway.
'This will be a very big and important exercise that will affect many,' he is quoted as saying.
The operation will be so big Norwegians have been warned it will affect more than a hundred municipalities 'directly or indirectly'.(FA)
