Russia has built up its northern fleet and Nato has become wary of Russian submarine activity in the Barents Sea and the North Atlantic.
Senior American officers have been seen at Olavsvern in recent weeks and last Friday the Norwegian Ministry of Defence approved an agreement that will allow the country’s armed forces and US military, as Nato allies, to use the base, which is 220 miles from the Russian border. It was shut during a thaw in relations with Russia and in 2015 was leased to seismic research vessels for Gazprom and other state companies.
In February Moscow accused Oslo of continuing to “escalate tension and increase the risk of military action” by allowing American nuclear submarines to use Norwegian ports.
The US navy has been using an open harbour at Malangen, south of Tromso, to resupply their Seawolfs. Modifications to the Tromso naval base, which has 270,000sq ft of housing and dockyards sheltered under 900ft of hard rock, include a secure berthing area for USS Jimmy Carter, the largest nuclear attack submarine.
