Putin Das Boot in: Royal Marines stage daring Arctic raid with German submarine as part of NATO exercise. The Royal Marines emerged from the icy depths of an Arctic fjord on top of a German U-Boat to carry out a rehearsal of a daring commando operation. On 3 March, Commandos surfaced around 200 miles inside the Arctic Circle aboard attack submarine U-35 as part of Cold Response 26, the largest NATO military drills in the region this year. They involve 14 nations and more than 25,000 troops. The marines โ€“ part of specialist units designed to carry out reconnaissance and direct naval gunfire from behind enemy lines, slipped silently away on inflatable raiding craft from U-35 to conduct their mission before returning and disappearing beneath the waves. The aim of the mission was to slip in unseen and remain hidden while reconnoitring 'enemy' positions, calling in naval gunfire from allied warships before making a stealthy getaway. It's all part of a major UK deployment to the Arctic Circle, which has seen around 1,500 commandos operate in Northern Norway since January.