KEFLAVÍK AIR BASE — It’s harsh here, with blustery winds at the Icelandic air station that the US shut down two decades ago. The gray, hardened aircraft shelters in concrete give a true sense of Cold War 2.0.
The six Swedish JAS 39 Gripen C fighters deployed here for Arctic air policing were grounded for two days when Breaking Defense visited the air station with a group of other media.
The decision not to fly wasn’t about the aircraft. It was for pilot survivability in case of ejection: “Hanging in a parachute and crashing into the ground in 45-knot gusting winds — I wouldn’t recommend that,” Lt. Col. Robin Arvidsson, fighter pilot and squadron commander in the Swedish Air Force, told Breaking Defense.
Keflavík Air Station was constructed during World War II and served as a US military base until 2006. Since 2008, it has infrequently hosted NATO air policing missions on a rotational basis.
But the Swedish Air Force’s Skaraborg Wing (F7) now has its fighter jets deployed at the base, with over 100 personnel. Some of the jets themselves carry IRIS-T short-range infrared-seeking air-to-air missiles.
Sweden holds primary responsibility for securing Arctic airspace for two months as part of NATO’s Arctic Sentry mission. It is the first time ever that the Swedish Air Force leads this mission.
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The rotation underscores the alliance’s resolve to defend the Arctic, sending a dual signal to US President Donald Trump — who has complained about Arctic defense — and to the Kremlin, with its strategic bombers and submarines in the nearby Kola Peninsula.
“Russia is establishing new operations and new bases, and we need to be present in the Arctic,” Maj. Gen. Jonas Wikman, commander of the Swedish Air Force, told Breaking Defense.
“We have good knowledge of what’s happening in the area and we are ready to act. So far, we haven’t had any reason for what we call an alpha scramble to protect the airspace,” Wikman added.
Norfolk As New Command
All Nordic allies have been under the command of NATO’s Joint Force Command Norfolk (JFC Norfolk) since December 2025. The area of responsibility spans from North America across the Atlantic to the Russian borders with Finland and Norway, covering the Arctic region and the critical transatlantic link between North America and Europe.
About one month ago, NATO announced a command restructuring plan under which the US will hand over leadership of two key operational-level commands to European allies: Joint Force Command Norfolk to the United Kingdom and Joint Force Command Naples to Italy.
NATO said European Allies, including its newest members, “will play a more prominent role” across leadership posts.
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However, no changes have been seen yet. The expectation is that there will be more officers from the UK when a British general or admiral takes over from the American general. Currently, there are more American officers at Norfolk, but nothing is clear yet.
“After the change, all those adjustments are going to happen incrementally. When my boss leaves the job, there’s a UK general or admiral taking over. That’s the plan,” Deputy chief of operations of Joint Force Command Norfolk (JFC Norfolk), Major General Frode Arnfinn Kristoffersen, told Breaking Defense.
Iceland Adopts Defense Strategy
Almost at the same time as the Swedish Air Force arrived for Arctic air policing, Iceland’s parliament, the Althing, adopted the country’s first-ever national defense strategy (NSD) after being a NATO member since 1949.
As a founding member of NATO, Iceland has never maintained armed forces, a deliberate choice despite no legal barriers. Its inaugural strategy affirms that the country will remain a “demilitarized state” while “actively protecting its sovereignty.”
Following the 2006 departure of US defense forces, Iceland and the United States forged an agreement on “mutual commitments” to guarantee ongoing protection. Icelandic officials then assumed control of key defense zones and Keflavík Airport, with NATO assets such as the air defense network, radar and communications sites, and the command hub within the airport’s secure perimeter.
Iceland’s air defense currently relies on four radar stations that monitor airspace to identify and track aircraft movements. NATO air policing aims to safeguard the northern flank through continuous real-time surveillance, with participating nations deploying four to 14 fighter jets and 60 to 300 personnel per rotation, according to the NSD, decided on Feb. 3.
Russian Seabed Warfare
Iceland’s NSD states that Russian vessels “regularly sail where undersea infrastructure is located” in the North Atlantic, and Russia has the capability to “disrupt or even sever the country’s connections to the outside world via undersea cables.”
Additionally, Chinese authorities have shown “considerable interest” in the High North for some time, with naval and air forces of Russia and China increasing their cooperation in recent years, according to the NSD.
However, the Swedish Air Force says it has not seen much Russian activity in the air domain during their first month of air policing.
Iceland expects attempts by Russia’s Northern Fleet on the Kola Peninsula “to disrupt shipping and troop movements, destroy infrastructure and Alliance capabilities through limited military actions, submarines, or hybrid operations,” and stresses that control over the sea area between Greenland, Iceland, and the United Kingdom (the GIUK gap) “is decisive for NATO submarine defenses, as Russian Northern Fleet submarines must pass through the gap to reach the southern Atlantic,” according to the strategy.
Currently, the US has a detachment of P-8 Poseidon anti-submarine warfare aircraft in Iceland for maritime patrol and reconnaissance “keeping track of the Russian subs in the waters surrounding Iceland,” Swedish Air Force detachment commander Lt. Col. Johan Legardt told Breaking Defense.
The number of American P-8s varies on a daily basis, it has ranged from one to eight. Currently there are two, he said.
As the officer responsible for the Swedish Air Force detachment in Iceland, Legardt stated that Russian long-range bombers on the Kola Peninsula are the “most likely threat. … From time to time they occur.”
The Russian bombers take off from their bases in Murmansk and are detected by Finnish and Norwegian radars: “So we have very good situational awareness on that.”
Iceland: Only The US Has The Capacity
Despite a European push to become less dependent on Washington, Iceland’s first National Defense Strategy concludes that the United States “is the only country with the capacity to adequately ensure security in the North Atlantic.”
There are about 200 to 300 US military personnel in Iceland, depending on the number of aircraft operating there, Iceland’s chief of defense, Director General Jónas G. Allansson, told Breaking Defense. “So we are working very closely with the US on this.”
He stressed that much of the activity at the air base has been developed to support the anti-submarine warfare (ASW) mission.
“It’s not only the US. We have Norwegian airplanes coming in. The UK is common here. Germany has just invested in new P-8s. So we want to be a part of the ASW ecosystem that is developing in the North Atlantic,” Allansson said.
Despite having no military and traditionally being exempted from standard NATO defense spending targets, Iceland “cannot be exempt from Alliance demands for increased funding.” the NSD states.
The nation, which describes itself as a demilitarized zone, states that “it must meet” NATO’s 1.5 percent benchmark for “defense-related expenditures.” But neither parliament nor the government has said anything about a timeline for reaching that goal, nor have they said anything about how Iceland could relate to NATO’s target for 3.5 percent core defense spending in the future.
Instead, this small Arctic nation has stepped up defense ties to the UK-led Joint Expeditionary Force, whose headquarters are in Northwood, and bilateral cooperation with key neighbors such as Denmark, Finland, France, Canada, Norway, and Sweden.
Similar agreements with Germany and the European Union are in preparation, while existing pacts with Sweden, Norway, and Canada are set to be updated amid the evolving security environment, the NSD states.