Two parallel events occurred in two very different locations in early September: from 8-10 September, the Emerging Technologies for Defense Conference & Exhibition took place in downtown Washington, DC. One speaker was General Aurelio Colagrande, Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Transformation at NATO. Meanwhile, in Greenland, exercise ARCTIC SHIELD has begun, bringing over 400 soldiers from 11 countries to train in Arctic warfare.

In his remarks, General Colagrande highlighted the importance of Arctic training, as the region “is becoming a strategic area.” What is needed is not just soldiers training there, but also new military technologies designed specifically for the Arctic environment. “We found that systems that work in a certain environment do not necessarily work in another,” said the General.

To prepare NATO for the evolution of warfare, the Alliance launched Task Force X (TFX)-Arctic in June to raise awareness and presence in the Arctic. TFX falls “under NATO’s Rapid Adoption Action Plan approved at the 2025 NATO Summit in The Hague, which aims at accelerating innovation adoption and integration into military operations.” Moreover, TFX-Arctic is led by Allied Command Transformation, which is part of General Colagrande’s portfolio.

During his remarks in Washington, the Italian general said they are planning future exercises to test equipment in the Arctic through TFX-Arctic. The region presents unique challenges, as “there are long distances, and challenges in communication;” hence “the systems we need for that” region must be designed for “that specific region.” The objective of TFX Arctic is to give the Alliance the “right” capabilities and doctrine to operate in that environment, the General explained.

NATO partners are indeed preparing for Arctic warfare. As previously mentioned, Arctic Shield is taking place in Greenland, Denmark. Moreover, the U.S. defense company Polaris has unveiled the new Military 850 Voyageur 155 Crossover snowmobile, which can carry two people and cargo, with a towing capacity of 204 kg (450 pounds). The company said it has received orders from the U.S. Army, U.S. Marine Corps, and U.S. Air Force.

A company spokesperson told FW MAG that “we will ship all snowmobiles on order by the end of the year, with customer deliveries across North America and Europe wrapping up in January 2027.” In response to a question by FW Mag about whether any European militaries use Polaris snowmobiles, the company explained, “no European militaries use Polaris military snowmobiles, and we are working to change that. U.S. and Canadian forces stationed in Europe do use Polaris military snowmobiles.”

Perhaps future iterations of exercise Arctic Shield will operate Polaris snowmobiles; or TFX-Arctic may experiment with new technologies by transporting or deploying them aboard the Military 850 Voyageur.

During a media briefing with General Colagrande on 10 September, FW MAG asked about Exercise Arctic Shield and if any new technologies will be tested there. The NATO general explained, “any system, any activity, and procedure that can provide defense and deterrence for the Alliance is welcome,” without providing any specific information.

FW MAG also asked General Colagrande about Italy’s recent purchase of two MQ-9A Block 5 REAPER drones, produced by General Atomics. The acquisition comes at a curious time when the US Air Force is looking to phase out its own fleet of REAPERs. The NATO General explained to FW MAG that “each nation is responsible for procurement and planning of their own defense systems,” but added that NATO has Alliance-wide requirements. “We allocate to each nation the capability that we require across the Alliance to ensure we can deter and defend across 360 degrees,” he explained.

From the Alliance’s point of view, “we do not tell the nation what type of system they need to procure,” but rather “we need to ensure that they provide capabilities” and that these capabilities, like Italy’s new Reapers, “can be interoperable. As long as those systems are interoperable with one another, that is OK with us,” the NATO general explained to FW Mag during the media briefing. 

General Colagrande appears optimistic about the future of the Alliance. During the media briefing, he explained that besides growing defense budgets across the Alliance (from 2% to 3.5% by 2035), “there is a renovated interest in investing in defense. We need to be sure those investments are spent on the right capabilities.”

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