NATO targets Arctic advantage with Cold Weather Centre

NATO is stepping up efforts to strengthen its ability to operate in the High North, with a Norwegian-led Cold Weather Operations Centre of Excellence driving capability development across all domains in extreme cold environments.

The Alliance says Arctic readiness is no longer a theoretical problem but a strategic imperative, as climate change opens up new sea routes and increases military interest in the region.

The Cold Weather Operations Centre of Excellence supports NATO forces in overcoming the challenges posed by the Arctic’s harsh climate, from deep snow and freezing temperatures to magnetic interference and limited daylight. Its mission is to turn cold-weather expertise into a strategic advantage through live experimentation, collaborative testing, and multinational training.

The Arctic is changing fast & so are the challenges to @NATO’s readiness in this region.
That’s where #NATO Centre of Excellence Cold Weather Operations comes in, ensuring Allied forces can also deliver strategic advantage in the High North: https://t.co/sODLHtfGWZ#WeAreNATO pic.twitter.com/CAu6unCn7R

— NATO ACT (@NATO_ACT) August 15, 2025

A major part of this drive is HEIMDALL, short for Harnessing Emerging technologies and Innovations for Multi-Domain capability Development in the Arctic Littoral Landscape, an Arctic innovation arena based in northern Norway. Drawing on lessons from Portugal’s REPMUS unmanned systems trials, HEIMDALL will bring together engineers, researchers and operators to evaluate uncrewed systems in real Arctic conditions.

The first HEIMDALL pilot trials are scheduled for February 2026, testing autonomous sensors and effectors in snow-covered fjords and mountainous terrain. Organisers say the goal is to speed up the transition from experimental concepts to operationally deployable capabilities in some of the most demanding environments on Earth.

These efforts will be complemented by the Cold Weather Operations Conference 2025, due to take place in Hamar, Norway, in November. With the theme Interoperability in the Arctic, the event will bring together military leaders, academics and industry partners to address issues such as cross-domain data sharing, the integration of uncrewed systems and the use of artificial intelligence in cold-weather combat scenarios.

NATO says initiatives like HEIMDALL, coupled with the work of the Cold Weather Operations Centre of Excellence, represent a shift from reactive adaptation to proactive capability building in the High North. The aim is to embed cold-weather expertise into doctrine, training and technology, ensuring the Alliance can operate and project power in Arctic conditions for decades to come.