Preventing Conflict in the Arctic with Russia Starts with Dialogue Building up existing organizations and creating new frameworks will enhance cooperation and transparency, reducing the risk of war. Arctic skies and waters are increasingly filled with military activity—the cooperative era which brought the adage “High North, Low Tension” is waning. In early February, news sources reported Russian Tu-160 strategic bombers patrolling the Arctic skies, escorted at times by MiG-31 fighters from Novaya Zemlya. The flight was met by two F-16s scrambled from Bodo Air Base in Norway. At the same time, the U.S. Air Force announced the deployment of B-1 bombers to Norway. Russia’s General Lieutenant Aleksandr Otroshchenko, Commander of the Northern Fleet’s 45