January 10, 2020
The United States and its NATO allies face an emerging competition with the resurgent Russian navy in the North Atlantic. This maritime region played a key role in the two world wars and the Cold War, serving as the strategic link between the United States and Europe that enabled the flow of reinforcements and supplies to the European Allies. With Vladimir Putin’s Russia threatening the peace in Europe following the annexation of Crimea in 2014, the North Atlantic and other maritime domains around Europe are once again vitally important. But this battle will in many ways be different, due to an overstretched U.S. Navy, the rise of disruptive technologies, a beleaguered NATO that woke up to the Russian challenge unprepared for high-end warfighting in the maritime domain, and a Russia commanding a smaller, but more sophisticated, navy equipped with long-range cruise missiles.
Magnus F. Nordenman is a noted NATO expert who formerly served as the director of the Transatlantic Security Initiative at The Atlantic Council in Washington, DC. He has provided advice to the U.S. government and European allies on the future of NATO, the alliance's role in the maritime domain, and defense and security matters in northern Europe. His insights and commentary have been featured in The New York Times, The Washington Post, Defense News, CNN, the BBC, and MSNBC. He has lectured at NATO's Maritime Command, the NATO Defense College, the US Naval War College, the Royal Norwegian Air Force Academy, and other military educational institutions. He currently works in the defense industry.