Reports of increasing temperatures around the world are proliferating. But amid the heat, great military powers are eyeing the Arctic Circle, where in July 2019 at Canadian military post CFS Alert, the temperature hit 69.8 degrees Fahrenheit.
The Arctic region consists of the Arctic Ocean and surrounding land, including all of Greenland and Spitsbergen, as well as the northern parts of Alaska, Canada, Norway and Russia. The U.S. National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration says Arctic ice cover has been thinning over large areas during the last 20 years, noting that if the trend continues, temperatures and ocean circulation could change significantly.
And so the race is on.
A strategic competition is on the horizon for untapped resources and new maritime routes. Russian forces operated the world’s largest icebreaker fleet in the region, while China has declared itself a “near-Arctic state” as it angles for a place among the competition. Meanwhile, the head of U.S. Northern Command and North American Aerospace Defense Command has called the Arctic the first line of defense and advocated for increased spending in cold weather technology.
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A U.S. Army National Guard CH-47 Chinook takes flight for exercise Arctic Eagle 2020 on Feb. 24, 2020, at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska. The drill is meant to benefit homeland security and emergency response operations in the northern U.S. state. (Alaska National Guard)
Canadian Coast Guard ship Louis S. St. Laurent alongside U.S. Coast Guard cutter Healy in the Arctic Ocean helped map the Arctic seafloor and gather data to help define the outer limits of the continental shelf in the region. (Jessica Robertson/U.S. Geological Survey)
A Russian officer, right, and soldiers stand next to a special military truck at the Russian northern military base on Kotelny island, beyond the Arctic Circle on April 3, 2019. The Russian military base dubbed the "Northern Clover" on the island was built to serve as a model for future military installations in the Arctic. (Maxime Popov/AFP via Getty Images)
Detachment 1, 23rd Space Operations Squadron gained operational acceptance of the seventh and final Remote Block Change antenna at Thule Air Base, Greenland, on July, 26, 2016. The antenna, designated as POGO-Charlie, represented some of the latest telemetry, tracking and command technologies in the U.S. Air Force. (U.S. Air Force)
U.S. Marines shoot an M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System during U.S. Northern Command’s Exercise Arctic Edge in Fort Greely, Alaska, on March 3, 2020. (Staff Sgt. Diana Cossaboom/U.S. Air Force)
Chinese paramilitary police border guards train in the snow at Mohe County in China's northeast Heilongjiang province, on the border with Russia, on Dec. 12, 2016. Mohe is the northernmost point in China, with a subarctic climate. (STR/AFP via Getty Images)
North American Aerospace Defense Command conducts an E-3 Sentry mission to the high Arctic supported by KC-135 Stratotankers. The mission was to demonstrate America and Canada's ability to detect threats through Arctic avenues of approach to North America. (North American Aerospace Defense Command)
Russian TOR-M2 tactical surface-to-air missile systems and Pantsir-SA air defense systems are decked out in their Arctic colors as they ride through Red Square during a military parade in Moscow on May 9, 2017. (Natalia Kolesnikova/AFP via Getty Images)
A soldier holds a machine gun as he patrols the Russian northern military base on Kotelny island, beyond the Arctic circle on April 3, 2019. The Arctic is a strategic region for Russia as it continues to strengthen its presence with the new perspectives offered by global warming. (Maxime Popov/AFP via Getty Images)
British and Irish soldiers with their military vehicles pause to check equipment and rest on Oct. 10, 2018, in Rotterdam, Netherlands. They were on their way to join other NATO forces for Operation Trident Juncture. Norway has long lobbied NATO partners to increase troop numbers as Russia has built up its military capacity in the region, especially the Kola Peninsula inside the Arctic Circle. (Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Getty Images)
Canada's HMCS Kingston sails in Lancaster Sound, close to Gascoyne Inlet during Operation Nanook on August 29, 2019. During Operation Nanook, the Canadian Armed Forces practice guarding the country's sovereignty over its northernmost regions and improving the way it operates in Arctic conditions. (Cpl. Simon Arcand/Canadian Armed Forces)
A Finnish F-18 Hornet departs from Jokkmokk Air Base during a joint exercise between the air forces of Finland and Sweden over the Arctic Circle towns of Jokkmokk in Sweden and Rovaniemi in Finland on March 25, 2019. (Jonathan Nackstrand/AFP via Getty Images)
Project scientist Nathan Kurtz and senior support scientist Jeremy Harbeck walk on their way to survey an iceberg locked in sea ice near Thule Air Base on March 26, 2017, in Pituffik, Greenland. NASA's Operation IceBridge was flying research missions out of the base and other Arctic locations. IceBridge team members took the rare opportunity to survey sea ice near the base from the ground. Thule Air Base is the U.S. military's northernmost base located some 750 miles above the Arctic Circle. (Mario Tama/Getty Images)
The crew of the U.S. Navy's Seawolf-class submarine Connecticut enjoys ice liberty after surfacing in the Arctic Circle during Ice Exercise 2020 on March 7, 2020. ICEX is a biennial submarine exercise that promotes interoperability between allies and partners to maintain operational readiness and regional stability, while improving capabilities to operate in the Arctic environment. (MC1 Michael B. Zingaro/U.S. Navy)
The fast-moving vehicle would be highly maneuverable and could be used to tow satellites or for counterspace missions, ULA CEO Tory Bruno told reporters.
