The UK’s Defence Contribution in the High North
This document sets out Defence’s approach to the Arctic, in support of the UK Government Arctic Policy Framework.
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As the 2021 Defence Command Paper makes clear, the High North and maintaining security in the defence of the North Atlantic remains of great importance to the UK. The MOD will continue to ensure that it remains capable of protecting the UK’s interests as the region opens up in the coming years.
The UK’s Defence Contribution in the High North lays out the Defence objectives that support wider UK aims, as outlined most recently in the 2018 Arctic Policy Framework, Beyond the Ice. The main commitments include:
- Protecting our Critical National Infrastructure and our other national interests, and those of our Allies and partners.
- Ensuring our freedom to navigate and operate across the wider region.
- Reinforcing the rules-based international system, particularly UNCLOS.
- Contesting malign and destabilising behaviours.
To deliver these objectives, we will:
- Improve our understanding of the region, how it is changing, and the activities of state and non-state actors within it.
- Work with regional Allies and partners, including through NATO, the Northern Group, and the Joint Expeditionary Force, aligning policy, activity, and capability where possible and across all domains.
- Maintain a coherent Defence posture, presence, and profile in the region, including training, partnering, and operating from and in the Arctic.
- Develop sustainable, modernised, and proportionate Defence capability for the region, including through investment in Research and Development.
The UK’s Defence Contribution in the High North will guide Defence efforts over a 10-year period, including long-term capability decisions. While its focus is on the High North, it notes that the region is contiguous with the North Atlantic and cannot be isolated from UK interests in adjacent regions, including Northern Europe and the Baltic Sea region, and the rest of the world.