An important aim of the training is to protect the airspace over Norway.
Russia has its powerful Northern Fleet based on the Kola Peninsula with both submarines and surface warships armed with supersonic long range cruise missiles like the Tsirkon.
A month ago, the Northern Fleet received its newest Yasen-M class submarine, the Perm. This is the first in the class that is designed to carry the Tsirkon missile that Russia claims has a range of up to 1,000 km. Launched from sea, the missile can fly over land and hit a target at sea on the other side. This means it can be launched from the Barents Sea, fly over northern Norway and hit a enemy warship outside the coast of the Lofoten archipelago, important waters for NATO to protect in case of escalating tensions.