Pentagon Arctic report calls for more investment in sensors, equipment to keep up with Russia, China

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. Defense Department must invest more to upgrade sensors, communications and space-based technologies in the Arctic to keep pace with China and Russia who are increasingly operating there, including in joint military exercises, a new Pentagon strategy says.

Saying that now is “a critical time” for the Arctic, Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks told reporters Monday that climate change, increased activity by adversaries and degrading U.S. infrastructure are forcing the department to rethink how to keep the Arctic secure and ensure troops are well-equipped and protected.

The Arctic strategy is short on specifics, but broadly pushes for greater spending on high-tech sensor and radar systems, a range of military equipment, and continued investment in Pituffik Space Base, the U.S. Space Force base in the northwest corner of Greenland. And it relies on growing partnerships with Canada and a number of NATO allies in the north.

Defense Department leaders have, for more than the past decade, warned that the U.S. needs to step up its activities in the Arctic to better compete with China and Russia as climate change makes the frigid region more accessible.

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