The United States will expand its military readiness and surveillance in the Arctic given heightened Chinese and Russian interest coupled with new risks brought on by accelerating climate change, the Pentagon said in a new report.
Measures are needed "to ensure the Arctic does not become a strategic blind spot” as melting ice makes the region more accessible economically and militarily, according to the Defense Department’s 2024 Arctic Strategy released Monday.
Priorities include better surveillance of the vast region, as well as research into space-based missile warning systems, deeper coordination across NATO and with Canada through the North American Aerospace Defense Command, and improved satellite and data communications. The Pentagon also said it needs better modeling and forecasting of the rapidly changing environment to prepare for potential combat in increasingly unpredictable conditions so far north.