The Royal Navy and its Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF) allies have signed a Northern Navies Initiative agreement intended to increase security across northern Europe, the North Atlantic and the Baltic Sea, the UK Ministry of Defence said. First Sea Lord General Sir Gwyn Jenkins signed the agreement onboard HMS Prince of Wales during an International Sea Power Conference in Oslo, Norway.

According to the ministry, the initiative seeks closer cooperation among JEF partners so they operate in the same way, train to the same standard, plan together before a crisis and develop compatible equipment. It also aims to make the JEF a maritime vanguard in the North Atlantic, High North and Baltic, able to act early and transition into NATO command. The ministry said the agreement was signed by representatives of all 10 JEF maritime nations and follows a Statement of Intent proposed by Jenkins in London last April.

The ministry cited risks to critical undersea infrastructure, malicious seabed activity and other forms of hybrid aggression. It said the Royal Navy will bring the first phase of Atlantic Net, part of Atlantic Bastion, into operation within months in partnership with Ocean Infinity. It also described fleet renewal using 280,000 tonnes of new steel, rising to around 450,000 tonnes with planned programmes, and £100m of new investment in transforming the UK Commando Force into a Warfighting Formation focused on the High North.