The Spanish Army's Mountain Troops in action in the Arctic region of northern Norway

At the end of February, Spanish soldiers from the "Galicia" 64 Mountain Hunters Infantry Regiment were deployed to Norway.

Spanish soldiers of the MOE in action with the support of the Czech 601. SKSS in Germany
A convoy of the Spanish Army's BRIPAC at the start of its deployment to Germany

This deployment was for their participation in NATO's Cold Response 2026 exercise, colossal maneuvers carried out in northern Norway and Finland that involved 32,500 soldiers from 14 allied countries (Norway, Finland, Germany, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Spain, France, Italy, the United States, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Sweden and Turkey), 25,000 of them in northern Norway and 7,500 in Finland.

The exercise took place from March 9 to 19 in harsh Arctic conditions, with temperatures as low as -20°C. It was conducted as a multi-domain operation, involving military units from the land, sea, air, cyber, and space domains. Cold Response is a biennial exercise that tests the military forces of allied countries in an extreme environment, as it is held at the Elvegårsmoen Training Area in Narvik, in the area of ​​Norway north of the Arctic Circle. As a result, Spanish soldiers were able to witness the Northern Lights, such as those in this photo published by the Ministry of Defense.

The Spanish Army deployed troops from two Mountain Infantry Regiments: the "Galicia" No. 64 (RCZM 64), based in Jaca (Huesca), and the "América" ​​No. 66 (RZCM 66), based in Berrioplano (Navarra). These two units belong to the Mountain Troops Command. Previously, soldiers from the RZCM 66 and the Ski Mountaineering Company of the RZCM 64) trained in the Cerler mountain refuge (Huesca) and its surroundings, in a high mountain environment.

On February 25, the Spanish Army published this video showing an improvised shelter in the middle of the Arctic night, built by soldiers from the Reconnaissance Section of the "Montejurra" Mountain Hunter Battalion I/66, part of the RZCM 66:

☀️ #BuenosDías, ¡Continúa el #ColdResponse26 en Noruega!
La Sección de Reconocimiento del Batallón de Cazadores de Montaña «Montejurra» I/66 del #EjércitodeTierra, afronta su primera pernocta a la intemperie en la noche ártica, práctica conocida como "Lone wolf".
🌡️ -20ºC
🌌… pic.twitter.com/hCNMX4Qkc0

— Ejército de Tierra 🇪🇸 (@EjercitoTierra) February 25, 2026

On March 8, the Army released this other video in which we see Mountain Troops with VAMTAC ST-5 tactical vehicles and Bandvagn BV-206S mountain tracked transports from RZCM 66, carrying out mortar and Spike anti-tank missile firings and other activities:

#Buenasnoches, despedimos la semana con este 📹 ¡Exigencia en «Cold Response 26» 🏔️❄️ Noruega pone a prueba a nuestros Cazadores de Montaña!.
🔹 Las Unidades del Mando de Tropas de Montaña siguen desplegadas en Noruega participando en el #ColdResponse26.
🫵 En el horizonte, un… pic.twitter.com/SxSGZacgCI

— Ejército de Tierra 🇪🇸 (@EjercitoTierra) March 8, 2026

This Friday, the Spanish Army has published a new video of this exercise with more images of the deployment of the Mountain Troops in Norway:

☀️ #BuenosDías, hoy finaliza el #ColdResponse26, ‼️Misión Cumplida‼️ en uno de los entornos más duros del planeta,❄️Ártico, Norte de #Noruega. 🇳🇴
✔️ Las unidades del Mando de Tropas de Montaña del #EjércitodeTierra, han operado junto a militares de más de 14 países, en… pic.twitter.com/LvqIkSKK8d

— Ejército de Tierra 🇪🇸 (@EjercitoTierra) March 20, 2026

You can see some more photos of this exercise here, showing soldiers from the Ski Mountaineering Company of the 64th RZCM:

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Photos: Ejército de Tierra / Ministerio de Defensa.