The Arctic is becoming a\u00a0hotly contested environment<\/a>\u00a0with increasing incursions from Russian and Chinese vessels in recent years. These intrusions constitute deliberate pressure on\u00a0NATO<\/a>, according to Lance K. Landrum, senior fellow at CEPA, who moderated the discussion.<\/p>\n \u201cWe could look at it from the sense of, \u2018This is a major force-on-force war\u2019 with amphibious assaults and all-domain force-on-force warfare \u2014 or we can look at it in the sense of hybrid malign influence and a slow burn of just leaning on the alliance and creating a new norm,\u201d Landrum said.<\/p>\n Jan Kallberg, senior fellow with transatlantic defense and security at CEPA, told Defense News that, while boots on the ground are unlikely due to\u00a0harsh conditions<\/a>, maritime threats remain a concern.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t think there is an imminent ground threat unless they use some of the regular ground forces further up north, which might be tricky,\u201d Kallberg told Defense News. \u201cI see it mainly as a naval threat. They are seeking to destroy cables.\u201d<\/p>\n He cited the sabotage of\u00a0underwater cables in the Baltic<\/a>\u00a0Sea as an example of threats to NATO, which unmanned underwater vehicles, or UUVs, could potentially guard against.<\/p>\n Although the extremely rugged conditions in the Arctic will test the capabilities of autonomous systems, their ability to endure is what will make them vital in the region, senior fellow Maj. Gen. Gordon Davis told reporters.<\/p>\n \u201cUncrewed systems matter in the High North not because they\u2019re revolutionary but because they enable persistence where continuous human presence is really impractical,\u201d Davis said.<\/p>\n Kallberg added that the use of maritime drones would be an ideal means of conducting surveillance in an environment defined by extreme elements, vast uninhabited areas and volatile weather conditions.<\/p>\n \u201cWith drones, what I find really important in a tactical application, is the drones themselves would create a lot of benefits when it comes to intelligence, getting data, answering questions, directing where to strike,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n The Arctic is becoming a fiercely contested hotspot, with\u00a0Danish military officials<\/a>\u00a0speculating that the High North could see an open conflict develop.<\/p>\n Last summer, intrusions by Chinese ships\u00a0provoked a response<\/a>\u00a0from the U.S. Coast Guard. Additionally, the U.S. Air Force conducted a landmark joint exercise with Norwegian armed forces simulating\u00a0a B-2 stealth bomber strike<\/a>\u00a0on a surface vessel in the region.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.fie.undef.edu.ar\/ceptm\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/M37OPZYHLZHNNPQT7U3E4FPMJA.jpg\")