A group of NATO navies are conducting “Operation Ice Camp Boarfish” in the Arctic Ocean—even as a war rages thousands of miles away in Iran.

The United States military continues to deploy warships and aircraft to support Operation Epic Fury, the ongoing bombing campaign against Iran, even as President Donald Trump indicated on Monday that the war could be concluded sooner than expected.

However, on Saturday, thousands of miles away from the current conflict in the Middle East, two United States Navy fast attack submarines began a training exercise in what could be a future global flashpoint. Operation Ice Camp Boarfish 2026 Arctic Ocean, a three-week Arctic event, is focused on submarine operations under the polar ice cap.

A Critical Submarine Mission

The Los Angeles-class USS Santa Fe (SSN-763) and Virginia-class USS Delaware (SSN-791) will “research, test, and evaluate operational capabilities in the Arctic region,” joined by other US Navy, US Marine Corps, and US Air National Guard units, the US Fleet Force Command confirmed in a statement. In addition, “personnel from the Royal Australian Navy, Royal Canadian Navy, Royal Canadian Air Force, French Navy, Royal United Kingdom Navy, Norwegian Defence Research Institute, and the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology” will also participate in the three-week-long biennial Ice Camp training exercise.

“The Arctic is a critical region for national security and global stability. Our commitment to a sustained presence and operational readiness here is unwavering,” said Vice Adm. Richard Seif, Commander, Submarine Forces, in the USFF statement. “ICE CAMP Boarfish allows us to test and refine our capabilities, deepen our interoperability with key allies, and ensure our Submarine Force can project power and defend our nation’s interests in any environment, at any time. Our strength in the Arctic is a testament to the skill and resilience of our sailors and partners.”

The US Navy’s Arctic Submarine Laboratory, which serves as a detachment of the Undersea Warfighting Development Center and is of the Pentagon’s “Center of Excellence” for Arctic matters, is a key partner in the Ice Camp exercises, overseeing its planning and then executing the operation.

“The Arctic is experiencing a trend of diminishing sea ice, which increases the likelihood of maritime activity in the region, including trans-oceanic shipping and resource extraction,” Fleet Force Command said.

For the 2026 iteration, Ice Camp Boarfish was established on a drifting ice floe and will serve as the operations command center. It includes shelters for personnel and other temporary but critical infrastructure.

“The complexity of establishing a fully functional base on a moving sheet of ice cannot be overstated,” said Capt. David Nichols, officer in tactical control for this Ice Camp Boarfish 2026. “The professionalism and dedication of every service member and civilian here is what makes this vital mission possible. We are focused on executing our objectives safely and effectively, further enhancing our collective readiness for Arctic operations.”

The USS Boarfish Honors a World War II Boat

This year’s exercise was named to honor the US Navy’s Balao-class submarine USS Boarfish (SS-327), which served at the end of World War II and earned a battle star for sinking two Japanese vessels.

SS-327 later was the flagship for 1947’s Operation Blue Nose, the first exploration under the polar ice cap. In the decades that have followed, military submarines have regularly conducted under-ice transits of the Arctic.

Ice Camp Boarfish will be the US Submarine Force’s 100th voyage in the region.

NATO Is Focused on the High North

It was less than six months ago that NATO also announced that it had officially opened its Combined Air Operations Center at Bodø, a Norwegian military base in the country’s far north.

It is a temporary home, however, until construction of a permanent mountain base facility at nearby Reitan is completed.

“CAOC in Bodø will enhance operational awareness in the High North and will build critical redundancy into NATO’s air command-and-control (C2) architecture, complementing the other two NATO CAOCs,” an AIRCOM spokesperson told international military analyst firm Janes earlier this month.

The international military alliance has established CAOCs at Uedem, Germany, and Torrejón, Spain.

“Together, the three [CAOCs] form a resilient network capable of ensuring continuous C2 across all operations,” the spokesperson added. “This structure enhances NATO’s ability to conduct dispersed air operations from multiple locations across the alliance, ensuring flexibility, survivability, and seamless coordination in a complex and contested security environment.”

Despite Iran War, NATO Is Still Planning Future Arctic Exercises

Next month, the UK is scheduled to lead “Operation Firecrest,” a NATO exercise in the North Atlantic and High North. The Royal Navy’s flagship HMS Prince of Wales has been preparing for deployment to lead the joint exercises. Still, there has been speculation that the conventionally powered carrier, which operates with the Lockheed Martin F-35B short takeoff and vertical landing (STOVL) multirole fighters, could be deployed to the Mediterranean to protect British and allied assets in the region.

The Marine Nationale (French Navy) has also deployed its flagship, the nuclear-power aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle, to the region. The French flattop arrived in Cyprus on Monday.

President Donald Trump very publicly rejected any UK offer to send such a warship to the Middle East.

“The United Kingdom, our once Great Ally, maybe the Greatest of them all, is finally giving serious thought to sending two aircraft carriers to the Middle East,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “That’s OK, Prime Minister Starmer, we don’t need them any longer—But we will remember. We don’t need people that join Wars after we’ve already won!”

Moreover, given the number of US Navy warships dispatched to the Middle East, it is unclear whether Washington can still participate in Operation Firecrest.

Still, NATO’s new Arctic Sentry framework seeks to coordinate allied military activity in the region, which has been in the spotlight after Trump stated that the United States needed Greenland for national security.

“With growing concern over Russian operations in the Greenland-Iceland-UK gap and the increased risk to critical undersea cables and pipelines, the deployment will send a clear message that the UK will always defend its waters, protect critical infrastructure, and stand shoulder-to-shoulder with its Allies,” the UK Ministry of Defence said in a statement.

This could leave London in a tight spot, whether it wants to show the Union Jack by sending its flagship to the Mediterranean as the war in the Middle East continues, or if it remains committed to the security of the High North. With so few warships available, it is hard for the UK to do both.

About the Author: Peter Suciu

Peter Suciu has contributed to dozens of newspapers, magazines, and websites over a 30-year career in journalism. He regularly writes about military hardware, firearms history, cybersecurity, politics, and international affairs. Peter is also a contributing writer for Forbes and Clearance Jobs. He is based in Michigan. You can follow him on Twitter: @PeterSuciu. You can email the author: Editor@nationalinterest.org.

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