The deployment of US Air Force (Air Force) strategic bombers in Norway is a response to Russia's strengthening in the Arctic, Hans Christensen, director of the Federation of American Scientists' Nuclear Information Project, told Nettavisen. The translation of the publication of the Norwegian edition is given by “Inosmi”.
According to the expert, on the one hand, Norway “is interested in making it clear to Russia that we have a strong alliance with the United States, sending it restraining signals to maintain the balance of power in the region.”
“On the other hand, no one wants to unnecessarily aggravate an already tense situation. But the US is hard to refuse. You have to pay for an alliance with the Americans. This is the dilemma facing our small state between the two superpowers, ”the expert said.
Christensen noted that “during the Cold War in the 1980s, according to the Norwegian Armed Forces, between 500 and 600 Soviet planes were seen annually in the airspace near our country's borders.” “After the collapse of the Soviet Union, this figure dropped sharply. In 1999 and 2000, from three to five aircraft were registered a year, and in the 2000s there were 10-15. Over the past three years, on average, we have detected 93 aircraft annually, ”the specialist said.
In February, The Drive reported that the US Air Force would send B-1B Lancer strategic bombers to Norway for the first time “with an eye on the nearest Russia and the Arctic.”
In the same month, the publication wrote that it is not at all difficult to imagine a future conflict in which the groups of strategic bombers B-1B Lancer and B-52 Stratofortress of the US Air Force will be tasked with hitting the same common sets of targets over a wide area.
