Research Project
Revitalizing Transatlantic Maritime Security
European and transatlantic security is increasingly jeopardized by a resurgent, revanchist, and more capable Russia. The Russian strategy, it seems, is to split unity within the West: both in Europe and across the Atlantic.
At the same time, US President Donald Trump, and several other US senior security voices, have repeatedly criticized the uneven burden sharing in NATO, indicating that failure to address this may undermine the very solidarity underpinning the Alliance.
In this environment, it is increasingly important for the United States and its European allies and partners to demonstrate a more equitable and adapted division of labor in the military domain. This will be important both in demonstrating to Russia the common resolve and commitment of the allies, and by demonstrating to the American and European populaces that this division of labor is fair and thus sustainable.
For most European allies it will take time to reach the pledged defense budgets of 2% of GDP.
An important question therefore is what else Europe can do to contribute to transatlantic security?
This project will generate concrete policy proposals, particularly in the maritime domain, and look at ways for the United States and Europe, and Norway in particular, to adapt their military division of labor both to improve the Alliance's military effectiveness and to show to domestic audiences that all allies and partners gave "skin in the game". It will also work to help shape the Alliance’s maritime strategy (last updated in 2011), which is slated for an overhaul.
The project will take stock of the main gaps in NATOs combined maritime capacities. We will assess current maritime force structure, planned procurement and upgrades through the alliance to 2030. These data will be compared to similar developments in the states perceived as potential challengers, mainly Russia and China. This will enable us to identify the main capability gaps and main challenges for NATO’s collective maritime defense during the next decade. This gap analysis will identify critical shortcomings, and to point to measures to rectify them.
The study will also seek to bring forward creative ideas as how to fill these gaps, by smart investments, private-public partnership or by applying new technological or operational solutions. We will emphasis ideas where Norway and the United States both could contribute, or benefit from the solutions. We aim to identify critical gaps in capability and to produce ideas and concept that may close those gaps. Such concepts can also be fed into ongoing processes, such as the development of NATO’s maritime posture.
Project Manager
Participants
New publications
US-Norway Bilateral Defense Agreements: a partnership that strengthens NATO
The defense partnership between the United States and Norway plays a crucial role for both American and Norwegian national defense. Less understood is the important and positive role that these US-Norwegian bilateral defense agreements (BLDAs) have for NATO. In the words of the Norwegian government, “NATO is the foundation of Norwegian security, and the USA is Norway’s most important ally.” In practical terms, US-Norwegian BLDAs are the glue that binds the US, Norway, and NATO together. This policy brief elaborates this point by offering a short exploration of the following: 1) NATO’s connection to the bilateral US-Norwegian defense relationship; 2) an overview of how and why BLDAs are used in the US-Norwegian defense relationship, 3) a review of different BLDA types, and 4) an overview of key bilateral US-Norwegian defense agreements.
Lack of Modern Connectors: The Challenge of Moving Marines from Ship-to-Shore or Intratheater in a New Warfighting Environment
As the Marine Corps retools its force design to fit roles and missions in an era of great power competition, it will always have to consider how the force will reach the battlefield. In a crisis, the U.S. Marine Corps currently has few options to get equipment en masse to where it is needed. The Navy/Marine Corps team must start looking at allied capability as the interim solution not only in the European theater, but also in the Indo-Pacific Theater to augment current capability shortcomings.
Not Enough Maritime Capability. The Challenge of Reinforcing Europe
Russia’s resurgence has meant that the United States again must seriously consider a possible conflict in Europe in its military plans. Central to the defense of NATO allies is a requirement for U.S. reinforcement of Europe, and U.S. reinforcement in turn depends on U.S. maritime shipping, which faces a number of critical challenges.This paper examines the current capability and availability of U.S. shipping to meet U.S. strategic sealift needs. It describes efforts by the United States to modernize and sustain the capacity required for strategic goals, including the reinforcement of Europe, and examines how the United States could leverage allied commercial and sealift capacity to address potential gaps. Finally, the paper identifies recommendations for addressing these challenges.U.S. logistical capabilities that are required to rein-force Europe, including sealift capabilities, have atrophied since 1989. Competing naval requirements make addressing future sealift shortages unlikely to be a top funding priority, while complicated laws hamper quick solutions to filling maritime shortfalls. Until U.S. shipbuilding can fill the gaps, workarounds such as using allied maritime assets to ship U.S. reinforcements must be considered. The requirement to reinforce Europe is too urgent not to consider all alternatives to addressing future shortfalls.
Bridging the Atlantic. A Norwegian Contribution to US Sealift
There is currently considerable concern with US capacity to muster the acquired number of sealift vessels needed to swiftly deploy forces overseas. Norway for its part has a large, modern, and versatile merchant fleet that could be militarily useful in case of NATO operations to reinforce Europe. This brief suggest a bilateral agreement be signed between Norway and the US that obliges Norway to muster a significant number of Norwegian-controlled ships to support transatlantic US sealift operations. Norway, along with most other European NATO member states, relies on US reinforcements for its national security. These reinforcements arrive by sea. Therefore, an agreement such as the one suggested in this brief serves the security interests of the US, Norway, and the rest of the European NATO states.
Building on Strength. Proposals for US-Norwegian Cooperation on the Operational and Tactical Level
This paper suggests that the existing practice of deploying United States Marine Core (USMC) units from Marine Corps Prepositioning Program-Norway (MCPP-N) facilities in Trøndelag to other parts of Norway during crisis and war needs to be rethought. The operational- and tactical-level threats in this area are changing rapidly, and there is a high level of risk inherent in existing practice. We propose a concept based on the use of parts of the Norwegian offshore fleet for both operational and tactical transport and supply of the USMC.