U.S. Sailors and Marines joined multiple Allied Nations in kicking off U.S. Sixth Fleet’s Exercise Northern Viking 2022 (NV22) in Keflavik, Iceland, April 2, 2022. U.S. Navy and Marine Corps forces include the USS Kearsarge (LHD 3) Amphibious Ready Group / 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit, P-8A Maritime Patrol Aircraft from Keflavik Air Base, the Henry J. Kaiser-class underway replenishment oiler USNS Patuxent (T-AO-201), Sailors from Task Force 68 and the Virginia-class attack submarine USS John Warner (SSN 785). Participating NATO Allied Nations include France, Germany, Iceland, Norway, Portugal, the United Kingdom and the United States. The combined forces bring significant capabilities across the air, land and at-sea domains.
“We are ready to host once again the Northern Viking exercise with our American counterparts here in Iceland. “We enjoy a strong and enduring relationship with the United States and we look forward to a highly successful event,” said Thórdís Kolbrún Reykfjörd Gylfadóttir, Iceland’s Minister for Foreign Affairs.
“The strong relationship between the U.S. and Iceland, especially in the maritime, dates back more than 70 years. We look forward to operating side-by-side with our Icelandic Allies while enhancing professional relationships and improving overall coordination with Allied Nations,” said Vice Adm. Gene Black, Commander, U.S. Sixth Fleet.
NV22 strengthens interoperability and force readiness between the U.S., Iceland and Allied Nations and enables execution of multi-domain command and control of joint and coalition forces in the defense of Iceland and the Sea Lines of Communication in the Greenland-Iceland-United Kingdom Gap. The exercise includes amphibious landings, expeditionary and construction capability, search and rescue, and humanitarian assistance with forces demonstrating skills in events across multiple domains, climates, and vignettes to enhance interchangeability and interoperability. U.S. Sixth Fleet, headquartered in Naples, Italy, conducts the full spectrum of joint and naval operations, often in concert with Allied and interagency partners, in order to advance U.S. national interests and security and stability throughout Europe and Africa.
