UK Air Force Typhoon Fighter Jets Conduct Arctic Operations to Counter Threats Across High North
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From 7 to 9 October 2025, the British Royal Air Force deployed Typhoon fighter jets to Norway’s High North during Exercise HILLSTREAM under the UK-led Joint Expeditionary Force. The Arctic operations underscored Britain’s commitment to collective defense and readiness in a region of growing strategic competition.
London, UK, October 17, 2025 – The British Royal Air Force (RAF) has completed a series of Arctic operations with its Typhoon fighter jets in Norway’s High North, marking the latest phase of Exercise HILLSTREAM under the UK-led Joint Expeditionary Force. Operating from Evenes Air Station inside the Arctic Circle, Typhoons from IX(B) Squadron provided close air support to Royal Marines of 3 Commando Brigade during a simulated amphibious landing. The deployment, which ran from 7 to 9 October, demonstrated the UK’s capacity to project precision airpower across the northern flank of Europe amid increasing geopolitical pressure in the Euro-Arctic region.Follow Army Recognition on Google News at this link
A British Royal Air Force Typhoon fighter jet from IX(B) Squadron operates from Evenes Air Station in Norway during Exercise HILLSTREAM, supporting joint Arctic operations under the UK-led Joint Expeditionary Force, October 2025. (Picture source: UK MoD)
The deployment of British Royal Air Force (RAF) Typhoon fighter jets, operationally referred to as the “Typhoon element” of HILLSTREAM, formed a cornerstone of this multi-domain exercise. It demonstrated the JEF’s capacity to deploy simultaneously across the High North, North Atlantic, and Baltic Sea region. Designed to enhance deterrence, strengthen regional partnerships, and counter the full spectrum of emerging threats, HILLSTREAM comes at a time of heightened geopolitical tension in the northern theater, where the Arctic’s strategic value is expanding rapidly.
IX(B) Squadron, based at RAF Lossiemouth in Scotland, is one of the Royal Air Force’s frontline fast-jet squadrons operating the Eurofighter Typhoon. With a heritage dating back to the First World War, the squadron was reformed in 2019 as a Typhoon unit after previously flying the Tornado GR4. Today, IX(B) Squadron is certified as Multi-Role Combat Ready and specializes in delivering both air-to-air and precision air-to-ground capabilities. Its participation in HILLSTREAM marked a significant operational deployment, reinforcing its role as a core component of the RAF’s combat air contribution to multinational joint operations.
RAF Typhoons played a critical role in enabling combined arms maneuver under cold-weather, high-threat conditions. By deploying to Evenes Air Station, located within the Arctic Circle, the RAF validated its ability to sustain combat operations from forward locations with limited infrastructure, degraded visibility, and sub-zero temperatures. The exercise tested not only aircrew proficiency in strike and close air support missions but also ground logistics, weapons loading, and interoperability with Norwegian air defense systems. The Typhoon element affirmed its operational relevance as a key enabler of joint force lethality in one of NATO’s most strategically exposed frontiers.
Exercise HILLSTREAM unfolded under the Joint Expeditionary Force Response Options, a strategic doctrine that enables the UK and nine partner nations including Norway, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, and the Baltic States to launch fast, flexible, and sovereign military responses to security challenges without requiring consensus from the broader NATO alliance. It is an increasingly vital tool for confronting grey-zone pressures, hybrid destabilization, and potential crisis escalation in Northern Europe.
In parallel with the Typhoon missions, Royal Marines from 3 Commando Brigade and 40 Commando conducted a full-spectrum amphibious assault rehearsal on Norway’s rugged coastline, supported by a British-led Maritime Task Group. The exercise fused air, land, and maritime components in a single synchronized force package. This is a hallmark of JEF’s evolving operational doctrine. Typhoons provided real-time close air support and tactical overwatch to commandos operating from amphibious landing craft and deploying in austere coastal terrain.
The ability to integrate airpower with amphibious and maritime elements under Arctic operational conditions is no longer a theoretical benchmark. It is now a core requirement. The HILLSTREAM deployment is not simply a show of force but part of a deliberate strategy to normalize operations in the North. This is about credibility, not just readiness. The UK is proving it can sustain and, if necessary, fight in the most challenging environments on Europe’s northern flank.
While the exercise did not name any specific adversary, the strategic messaging was clear. By executing simultaneous operations across the High North, North Atlantic, and Baltic Sea, JEF sent a firm signal that it can deliver a fast, integrated, multi-domain response across a vast and logistically complex battlespace. It also illustrated the growing necessity for coordinated Arctic and Baltic defense planning, where anti-access and area denial (A2/AD) systems, maritime strike platforms, and long-range precision fires are reshaping the regional threat landscape.
The strategic geography of the High North, bordering the Arctic Ocean and encompassing the Greenland-Iceland-UK (GIUK) gap, makes it a region of increasing importance for both NATO and partner forces. With melting ice expanding navigable routes and seabed competition accelerating, the Arctic is no longer shielded from broader geopolitical dynamics. Through exercises like HILLSTREAM, the JEF is making clear that any attempt to destabilize this theater will meet an organized, multinational, and combat-ready response.
For IX(B) Squadron, HILLSTREAM represents not only operational maturation but a shift in mission relevance. Once an aggressor training unit during the Tornado era, the squadron is now a core contributor to Britain’s forward combat air strategy. The Typhoon, equipped with advanced sensors, Litening III targeting pods, and precision-guided munitions, proved its value in supporting agile amphibious warfare. It confirmed the RAF’s ability to deliver lethal, integrated support to joint forces in extreme weather and terrain.
From an operational standpoint, HILLSTREAM tested vital capabilities that are essential to future conflict scenarios in Northern Europe. These include agile basing, distributed operations, joint fires coordination, and rapid force generation under contested conditions. These are no longer theoretical concepts. The exercise proved they are executable, resilient, and tactically effective. For the UK and its northern allies, the message is clear: deterrence across the Euro-Atlantic region depends not just on numbers, but on speed, integration, and credible readiness across air, land, and sea.
Army Recognition will continue to provide exclusive coverage of the Joint Expeditionary Force’s deployments and training cycles. As tensions build across the Arctic and Baltic, and as the defense posture of Europe’s northern tier becomes more critical than ever, exercises like HILLSTREAM are more than drills. They are declarations of intent and demonstrations of capability. The JEF, as seen this week in the skies and fjords of Norway, is preparing not for the last war, but for the next one.Written by Alain Servaes – Chief Editor, Army Recognition GroupAlain Servaes is a former infantry non-commissioned officer and the founder of Army Recognition. With over 20 years in defense journalism, he provides expert analysis on military equipment, NATO operations, and the global defense industry.
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From 7 to 9 October 2025, the British Royal Air Force deployed Typhoon fighter jets to Norway’s High North during Exercise HILLSTREAM under the UK-led Joint Expeditionary Force. The Arctic operations underscored Britain’s commitment to collective defense and readiness in a region of growing strategic competition.
London, UK, October 17, 2025 – The British Royal Air Force (RAF) has completed a series of Arctic operations with its Typhoon fighter jets in Norway’s High North, marking the latest phase of Exercise HILLSTREAM under the UK-led Joint Expeditionary Force. Operating from Evenes Air Station inside the Arctic Circle, Typhoons from IX(B) Squadron provided close air support to Royal Marines of 3 Commando Brigade during a simulated amphibious landing. The deployment, which ran from 7 to 9 October, demonstrated the UK’s capacity to project precision airpower across the northern flank of Europe amid increasing geopolitical pressure in the Euro-Arctic region.
Follow Army Recognition on Google News at this link
A British Royal Air Force Typhoon fighter jet from IX(B) Squadron operates from Evenes Air Station in Norway during Exercise HILLSTREAM, supporting joint Arctic operations under the UK-led Joint Expeditionary Force, October 2025. (Picture source: UK MoD)
The deployment of British Royal Air Force (RAF) Typhoon fighter jets, operationally referred to as the “Typhoon element” of HILLSTREAM, formed a cornerstone of this multi-domain exercise. It demonstrated the JEF’s capacity to deploy simultaneously across the High North, North Atlantic, and Baltic Sea region. Designed to enhance deterrence, strengthen regional partnerships, and counter the full spectrum of emerging threats, HILLSTREAM comes at a time of heightened geopolitical tension in the northern theater, where the Arctic’s strategic value is expanding rapidly.
IX(B) Squadron, based at RAF Lossiemouth in Scotland, is one of the Royal Air Force’s frontline fast-jet squadrons operating the Eurofighter Typhoon. With a heritage dating back to the First World War, the squadron was reformed in 2019 as a Typhoon unit after previously flying the Tornado GR4. Today, IX(B) Squadron is certified as Multi-Role Combat Ready and specializes in delivering both air-to-air and precision air-to-ground capabilities. Its participation in HILLSTREAM marked a significant operational deployment, reinforcing its role as a core component of the RAF’s combat air contribution to multinational joint operations.
RAF Typhoons played a critical role in enabling combined arms maneuver under cold-weather, high-threat conditions. By deploying to Evenes Air Station, located within the Arctic Circle, the RAF validated its ability to sustain combat operations from forward locations with limited infrastructure, degraded visibility, and sub-zero temperatures. The exercise tested not only aircrew proficiency in strike and close air support missions but also ground logistics, weapons loading, and interoperability with Norwegian air defense systems. The Typhoon element affirmed its operational relevance as a key enabler of joint force lethality in one of NATO’s most strategically exposed frontiers.
Exercise HILLSTREAM unfolded under the Joint Expeditionary Force Response Options, a strategic doctrine that enables the UK and nine partner nations including Norway, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, and the Baltic States to launch fast, flexible, and sovereign military responses to security challenges without requiring consensus from the broader NATO alliance. It is an increasingly vital tool for confronting grey-zone pressures, hybrid destabilization, and potential crisis escalation in Northern Europe.
In parallel with the Typhoon missions, Royal Marines from 3 Commando Brigade and 40 Commando conducted a full-spectrum amphibious assault rehearsal on Norway’s rugged coastline, supported by a British-led Maritime Task Group. The exercise fused air, land, and maritime components in a single synchronized force package. This is a hallmark of JEF’s evolving operational doctrine. Typhoons provided real-time close air support and tactical overwatch to commandos operating from amphibious landing craft and deploying in austere coastal terrain.
The ability to integrate airpower with amphibious and maritime elements under Arctic operational conditions is no longer a theoretical benchmark. It is now a core requirement. The HILLSTREAM deployment is not simply a show of force but part of a deliberate strategy to normalize operations in the North. This is about credibility, not just readiness. The UK is proving it can sustain and, if necessary, fight in the most challenging environments on Europe’s northern flank.
While the exercise did not name any specific adversary, the strategic messaging was clear. By executing simultaneous operations across the High North, North Atlantic, and Baltic Sea, JEF sent a firm signal that it can deliver a fast, integrated, multi-domain response across a vast and logistically complex battlespace. It also illustrated the growing necessity for coordinated Arctic and Baltic defense planning, where anti-access and area denial (A2/AD) systems, maritime strike platforms, and long-range precision fires are reshaping the regional threat landscape.
The strategic geography of the High North, bordering the Arctic Ocean and encompassing the Greenland-Iceland-UK (GIUK) gap, makes it a region of increasing importance for both NATO and partner forces. With melting ice expanding navigable routes and seabed competition accelerating, the Arctic is no longer shielded from broader geopolitical dynamics. Through exercises like HILLSTREAM, the JEF is making clear that any attempt to destabilize this theater will meet an organized, multinational, and combat-ready response.
For IX(B) Squadron, HILLSTREAM represents not only operational maturation but a shift in mission relevance. Once an aggressor training unit during the Tornado era, the squadron is now a core contributor to Britain’s forward combat air strategy. The Typhoon, equipped with advanced sensors, Litening III targeting pods, and precision-guided munitions, proved its value in supporting agile amphibious warfare. It confirmed the RAF’s ability to deliver lethal, integrated support to joint forces in extreme weather and terrain.
From an operational standpoint, HILLSTREAM tested vital capabilities that are essential to future conflict scenarios in Northern Europe. These include agile basing, distributed operations, joint fires coordination, and rapid force generation under contested conditions. These are no longer theoretical concepts. The exercise proved they are executable, resilient, and tactically effective. For the UK and its northern allies, the message is clear: deterrence across the Euro-Atlantic region depends not just on numbers, but on speed, integration, and credible readiness across air, land, and sea.
Army Recognition will continue to provide exclusive coverage of the Joint Expeditionary Force’s deployments and training cycles. As tensions build across the Arctic and Baltic, and as the defense posture of Europe’s northern tier becomes more critical than ever, exercises like HILLSTREAM are more than drills. They are declarations of intent and demonstrations of capability. The JEF, as seen this week in the skies and fjords of Norway, is preparing not for the last war, but for the next one.
Written by Alain Servaes – Chief Editor, Army Recognition Group
Alain Servaes is a former infantry non-commissioned officer and the founder of Army Recognition. With over 20 years in defense journalism, he provides expert analysis on military equipment, NATO operations, and the global defense industry.
