C2 and the Northern Navies Initiative
From Command and Control by Peter Roberts
May 25, 2026 · 41 min · Season 5 · Episode 23
About this episode
The episode discusses the formation of a multi-national maritime force in Northern Europe and the challenges faced by the UK in command commitments.
Ten Baltic and Scandinavian (and the UK) have agreed to come together to form a multi-national maritime force for crisis response around Northern Europe, specifically on the maritime border with Russia. All parties are NATO members, and members of the Joint Expeditionary Force – itself a NATO framework organisation. Ed Arnold from the D Group explains why this is about operationalising the JEF when the politics of it is wandering. But the credibility of the UK is being pressed hard when command commitments are growing, diverse, geographically spread, and rely on too few qualified and experienced people. Why should the UK command? Why should others follow? Why is Northwood the right place? And, how will the UK balance the long-standing habit of using US C2 systems with an announcement that declares an intent to command on whatever system European Allies favour? Ed Arnold answers all these questions and queries. Underlying the discussion sits some uncomfortable concerns about UK command credibility, the need for continued momentum if the Northern Navies Initiative is to survive, and the desperate need for some form of political prioritisation of tasks from London.
People in this episode
Host: Peter Roberts
Guest: Ed Arnold
Topics covered
- maritime force
- crisis response
- NATO
- UK command
- Northern Navies Initiative
- political prioritisation
Keywords
- Northern Navies Initiative
- NATO
- UK command
- maritime crisis response
- Ed Arnold
- Joint Expeditionary Force
- Northwood
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: NATO, Joint Expeditionary Force
Places: UK, Northern Europe, Russia, Northwood, Baltic, Scandinavian
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