An RAF Airbus A400M Atlas landed on Jan Mayen on 29 August and offloaded U.S. Marines, U.K. Royal Marines and two Joint Light Tactical Vehicles during Operation Atlantic City 26, a trilateral Arctic training exercise involving Norway, the United Kingdom and the United States. The mission, flown by RAF LXX Squadron from RAF Brize Norton, demonstrated the transport aircraft’s ability to deliver personnel and vehicles directly to the remote Norwegian island using a short, unpaved runway.
Jan Mayen sits north of the GIUK gap and its austere airfield provides a demanding test of allied air mobility in the High North. The aircraft’s load went beyond troop transport, with the two JLTVs showing that the A400M can insert heavier equipment into the island without a separate sea lift. Norwegian forces are also taking part in the exercise, which runs from 26 August to 4 September.
The landing was not the A400M’s first on Jan Mayen. It also reached the island during the 2025 edition of Operation Atlantic City with a single JLTV, underlining its semi-prepared-surface capability for Arctic logistics and expeditionary operations.