All ten nations of the Joint Expeditionary Force have signed a statement of intent to develop a more integrated multinational maritime force across the High North and North Atlantic, with a JEF Chiefs of Navy summit planned for next month to convert that commitment into a concrete plan.

First Sea Lord General Sir Gwyn Jenkins set out the ambition at the Combined Naval Event in Farnborough, in what the Royal Navy described as the first time a serving First Sea Lord has addressed the event. Jenkins said the goal was to move the JEF beyond episodic exercises toward something more permanent and operationally credible.

“The real prize is the creation of a family of Northern Navies, not from scratch, but through a much deeper partnership with the nine like-minded nations that make up the Joint Expeditionary Force. Since 2014, we have worked together to ensure we can rapidly respond to emerging threats in the High North, North Atlantic and the Baltic regions. But we must now go further if we are truly to provide the credible deterrence we need along our open sea border with Russia.”

Jenkins described the intended force as a vanguard for NATO rather than a replacement for it. “It would be a force that acts as a vanguard for NATO, giving us the ability to respond flexibly and immediately to a threat or provocation as the wider alliance takes time to mobilise and determine its own response.” The focus for the next phase will be improving interoperability, readiness, and shared capability development across all ten JEF nations.

The JEF is a UK-led grouping comprising Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway, and Sweden. The addition of Finland and Sweden following their NATO accession in 2023 and 2024 respectively has significantly extended the alliance’s Nordic footprint and given the JEF a more coherent geographic basis for operations in the High North and Baltic regions. All ten nations now border or have direct strategic interests in the waters most affected by Russian naval activity.

The statement of intent comes against a backdrop of sustained Russian naval activity in the North Atlantic and High North that Jenkins described as reaching levels unthinkable five years ago. Russian submarine and surface activity in UK territorial waters and NATO operating areas has increased significantly, driven in part by what Jenkins described as a 100 billion pound Russian investment in its Northern Fleet in 2025 alone.

Director Submarines Rear Admiral Andy Perks also addressed the event, speaking in the submarine service’s 125th anniversary year, and reaffirmed the centrality of submarines to the Royal Navy’s plans in precisely the waters the JEF is focused on. “The Royal Navy remains fully committed to the submarine as its principal anti-submarine and underwater warfare capability until the 2060s at least.” Up to 12 new nuclear-powered attack submarines are planned for delivery from 2039, building on the Astute class.

Jenkins closed by expressing confidence in the direction the service was heading despite the scale of the challenge. “In uncertain times and despite significant challenges, we have the clarity of purpose, we have a plan and we have the willingness to change the Royal Navy.”