The UK Commando Force has released stunning images showcasing its Winter Deployment 25 in Northern Norway, where over 2,000 service personnel are honing their arctic warfare skills and strengthening operational ties with NATO allies.

The deployment includes Royal Marines, 24 Commando Royal Engineers, 29 Commando Royal Artillery, and the Commando Helicopter Force, reflecting Britain’s long-term commitment to the High North.

During a capability display at Camp Viking, senior officers and distinguished visitors were introduced to the KS-1 rifle and other advanced equipment essential for arctic combat. The event offered live demonstrations and insights into how the UK Commando Force operates in extreme cold, ensuring visitors understood its growing focus on the High North as a strategic priority.

Photographer: LPhot Stainer- Hutchins

Skiing for Survival

Personnel on the Cold Weather Warfare Course were seen mastering telemark skiing at Malselv slopes near Bardufoss, essential for mobility in snow-covered terrain. Telemark skiing, which involves loose-heeled bindings for cross-country travel, is a core skill for Arctic operations. Trainees progress from basic skiing to navigating with full bergen rucksacks, weapons, and pulks carrying supplies.

The training ensures personnel can move swiftly and effectively across mountainous and frozen landscapes—an advantage in both combat and survival scenarios.

Photographer: POPhot Lee Blease

BV Driver Training

The deployment also involves specialised driver training on the Viking BVS10 all-terrain vehicles, conducted during Exercise CLOCKWORK. The BV vehicle, known for its ability to traverse rugged, icy landscapes and operate in water, is vital for transporting troops and equipment. During training in Bardufoss, drivers were tested in handling the amphibious, caterpillar-tracked vehicles to navigate Norway’s challenging terrain.

By enhancing its mobility and logistics capabilities, the UK Commando Force ensures that operations in the Arctic can be sustained under any conditions.

Photographer: LPhot Stainer- Hutchins

Ice Breaker Drills

One of the most challenging exercises, the infamous ice breaker drill, involves personnel plunging into freezing waters with their bergens and ski poles. Once submerged, they must secure their equipment on the ice, answer questions from instructors, and climb out of the water under strict supervision.

The exercise tests resilience, composure, and survival instincts, ensuring that Commandos are prepared to handle any situation, no matter how extreme.

The UK has conducted cold-weather training in Norway for over 50 years, making it one of the few nations capable of operating efficiently in the Arctic. By integrating new technology, advanced weaponry, and specialised skills, the UK Commando Force is well-positioned to lead NATO efforts in the High North.

Drills such as these are essential to safeguarding Europe’s northern flank, ensuring the UK’s forces remain operationally prepared for any threat in one of the world’s most strategic and challenging regions.

All imagery Crown Copyright 2025.

Lisa West
Lisa has a degree in Media & Communication from Glasgow Caledonian University and works with industry news, sifting through press releases in addition to moderating website comments.

28 COMMENTS

    • I guess that depends on what one classifies as Infantry?
      SAS and SBS Squadrons, while SF, do operate as infantry, and it’s that flexibility and ability to operate in any terrain that goes towards them being “special.”
      Pathfinder Platoon then are also infantry, they train for other environments, as do the Rangers, who are also infantry.
      “Line” infantry Battalions do go to Kenya and Belize for training but whether they can do the lot, so cold weather too, I don’t know.
      All

      • Rangers definitely do Arctic, and should all be comfortable in Jungles and Kenya, porbably the only environment the Commandos do that Rangers don’t would be Amphib and Mountain Warfare (and even then I don’t think mountain warfare is that big of a focus for the Royals, they’re certainly not Gerbirgsjaeger or Alpini).

        I believe AWIC is also opening up more and more to the wider field army, so in general the competency of Line infantry units in Arctic Warfare is on the rise, and I think that if a unit was told it was going on an Arctic Warfare OTX it would very quickly leverage that wider field army knowledge to get itself into a position where it could operate in the extreme cold weather.

        • The Royal Marines have a specialised unit known as ‘The Artic Mountain and Warfare Cadre’. This is a highly specialised unit trained in mountin climbing,Alpine Mountaneering,Skiing,Artic Survival and a lot of other skills and drills which fall under their title. It’s an extremely hard and arduous course to pass,it’s even harder if you attempt selection for the ‘Artic Mountain Warfare Cadre leader’. These were the ‘cabbage heads’ who in the Falklands conflict found LUP’(Lying up places or covert observation posts) and recced Argentine positions whilst relaying intel and calling in artillery strikes,Fast Air strikes and safe passage for our troops to assault aforementioned positions(if their is such a thing as safe passage in wartime). There is a lot that civilians don’t know about our beloved ‘cabbage heads’ and this is why they are one if not the best ‘green regiment’ in the world. As Kipling wrote “To stand and be still to the Birkenhead drill is a damn tough bullet to chew”. But those that pass those 32 weeks at CTCRM and are awarded the green lid,are more than capable PER MARE PER TERRAM!

          • Lee, Arctic Mountain and Warfare Cadre hasn’t existed for nearly 30 years, it’ got replaced with MLTC in the 90’s, and anyway it’s not a unit, it’s a instructor cadre. Nobody is debating whether or not the RM retain some personnel with competency in Mountain Warfare, the question was how much of a focus is it for the RM as a whole? I don’t think they view it as anything important anymore, certainly not compared to European Units that have Mountain Warfare as their Reason d’etre. How many Unit or even Sub-Unit Mountain Warfare exercises has UK Commando Forces completed in the last five years? How many MLs where qualified by MLTC in that period? How many courses are run? In general I think the focus has shifted way more to Extreme Cold Weather and Arctic (and even then that’s mostly focused on 45, as 40, 42 and 43 do not really focus on Norway anymore).

            Also a LUP isn’t a covert observation post, that would be an OP, a LUP is a safe spot you occupy before moving up to an FUP for an assault or an OP to observe. It’s generally the “last safe step.” LUP’s are common throughout the GCC forces, not just the RM’s btw.

            Frankly, as I’ve said in the past, I think the RM’s are a bit over rated. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying they are terrible and that I wouldn’t want to work with them, but they are very good at PR, and at times the whole PR spiel about them kind of runs away from the reality of what they are.

        • Royal Marines are the UK’s artic warfare specialists and have since 1970 been deploying to Norway virtually every year for 3 months intense training. Army units with the exception of 29 & 59 Commandos simply haven’t the same level of experience.
          What also sets the Commando forces apart is all personal from logistics to chefs are arctic trained not just front line troops.

          • @Tony. Not every Marine Unit deploys every year, 45 Commando has a lot of Arctic Training (43 focuses on Faslane, 42 does specialist taskings and 40 focuses further South), but nobody in that unit has been around since 1970. Army personnel who complete AWIC do the same course as Royals, and some Army units, eg 3 Ranger, deploy to Arctic Environments on the Regular.

            The days of Arctic being a 3 Commando only game are gone and the delta between Marine and Army operators in the Arctic is shrinking every year.

          • For the record the RM’s make up approximately 40% of U.K. special forces personnel when they are less than 8% the number of the regular Army.
            Unfortunately adverts and PR for the Army have become ever more tame and focus on civil emergencies and peacekeeping, which is not why many join let’s be honest. I have come to the conclusion UK defence PR has become ever more fanciful as our real capabilities have been reduced. All a bit embarrassing to be honest.
            As for the Army it has some great units but given its small size it should be looking to increase its quality to make up for its complete irrelevance in Central Europe where numbers matter.
            That means some infantry units being disbanded to provide numbers for the rebuilding of the logistical and support units that have been cut back particularly hard since at least 2010.
            At the same time a dedicated Army Brigade for artic warfare would give the U.K. some mass in this important theatre that has been lost.
            Overtime I would increase the number of the better quality units: Rangers, Paras, Gurkhas alongside the RM at the expense of others. That might mean a further reduction in the overall head count but given our lack of mass that is hardly going to make a difference but another 3k to 4k of high quality personnel would be a great deterrent capability in north west Europe.
            The alternative is a real uptick in funding that would enable the mass to be put back in all 3 of the armed forces but that is unlikely to happen without a further and drastic deterioration in international situation.
            The U.K. armed forces best hopes for a resurgence are Putin, Xi and especially Trump, which is the awkward truth.

          • Rubbish, I have done plenty of Norway deployments as an FST from 148 Bty forming part of the BRF.
            Parachuting into an exercise with full kit, ski and pulk bundles at night onto frozen lakes without resupply for 2 weeks.

            There is more to soldiering than just being an infanteer, hence why the Brigade is now a Commando Force as opposed to 3 Cdo Bde RM.

            You also tend to find that 29 and 24 do more Norway deployments than the RM Cdo units.

          • Just a note.
            59 Sqn RE was expanded in the 2000s, and is now a sub unit of 24 Engineer Regiment.

      • I was infantry. 22 years. In that time, you are correct that I served in the theaters you mentioned, however, I also served in Norway, completing winter warfare training. Most other infantry units, normal foot soldier battalions, carried out the same training. The main sponsors of the arctic warfare training were the very professional Royal Marines. They were the subject matter experts.

  1. “Growing focus on the high north as a strategic priority”
    So, they mutilated 3 Cdo Brigade and divided the Commandos into both arctic role, ( 45 Cdo plus supports ) LRG raiding ( 45 and 40 ) and Martime Security ( 42 )
    While removing it’s enablers like shipping, Landing Craft, Hover Craft.
    No sign of extra drones, precision weapons like HIMARS, for example, or expanded artillery firepower either beyond the long used but still effective Light Gun.
    So what priority is this? You’re just allocating an ever reducing assets roster to a role you highlight as a strategic
    priority, HMG.
    It’s like the Commandos are trying to cover all roles and not achieving any to a suitable level due to lack of enablers.
    I also still wonder if one of the Army Brigades, 4 Bde, could be assigned to the north, say, Finland, and, in time, develop some arctic capability? Assume would take many many years with seeded experience from the Commandos within it?

      • What the British Army really needs, before infantry, is more enablers.
        CS and CSS formations.
        As it is, for the Infantry Battalions it has, it lacks the means to group them efficiently into all arms Brigades.
        If I had my way, I’d have the SDR lose, say, 5 Battalions and redistribute that headcount into Artillery, Air Defence, Engineers, Logistics, Medics.

    • Without wishing to go way off topic… back in the good old days (70’s 80’s) I seem to recall that one of the Royal Anglian battalions, used to go off somewhere annually, and take part in Arctic Warfare training.

      I know 1st Anglian did Jungle warfare training last year they, no idea if they do arctic any more.

    • Many of the lads are bored out there because they are not doing much and it has been like that for a few years. The most important thing seems to be to get some great photos for PR purposes. I believe it is called keeping up appearances.

        • Nothing much changes then. Unless you are out on the ground or released for some R and R OTX’s usually get really boring. The joys of transit accommodation far from anywhere in particular.

        • Ditto.
          They are allegedly waiting for a Bay class ship to potentially make an appearance so they can actually practice some of the manoeuvres they are supposed to do alongside there are other tasks. All rather embarrassing tbh.

  2. During the war in Vietnam, every man in the field had ten rear echelon personnel to back him up. Fifty years on, I wonder how that ratio has changed. I would hazard a guess that it has doubled. No matter. The fact remains that in order to deal in real estate, an army needs boots on the ground to make it happen.
    There’s going to be a lot of real estate games in the far North, and the fact that it is readily accessible by all the major players ups the stakes for all concerned. It could turn into a meat-grinder, so I would be inclined to turn South and start taking a good look at Antarctica. Just saying.

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