Circumpolar Military Facilities of the Arctic Five

Prepared by Ernie Regehr, O.C.
Senior Fellow in Arctic Security
The Simons Foundation

In 2011 the Canadian Senate Committee on Security and Defence, in its interim report on Arctic sovereignty and security, asked the question: "Is the region again becoming militarized?"  It is that question that prompts the following compilation of current military facilities in the circumpolar region.  The current list is confined to the five Arctic Ocean states, but the intention is to expand it to include all the states of the Arctic Council.

A simple listing of military bases, facilities, and equipment, either based or available for deployment in the Arctic Region, does not itself answer the question of militarization, but the listing is intended to contribute to the informed consideration of it, and to informed assessments of the likely security implications of particular military procurement programs and developments.  The objective is to aid efforts toward a better understanding of the extent and nature of current and planned military capacity in the Arctic.  A later paper will address the "militarization"question more directly.

The complete listing can be found here: Circumpolar Military Facilities of the Arctic Five


Ernie Regehr, O.C. is Senior Fellow in Arctic Security at The Simons Foundation, and Research Fellow at the Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies, Conrad Grebel University College, University of Waterloo.