ROYAL Marines from 40 Commando lit up Arctic fjords and valleys as they laid down mortar rounds in the dark during winter training in Norway.

The troops from Norton Manor Camp have been on the biannual Exercise Aquila 19 around the small town of Bardufoss to enhance the operational capability of 3 Commando Bridgae in a mountain and cold weather warfare environment.

They've been braving wind chill temperatures of minus -35°C on Arctic survival training on northern Norway and firing illumination shells as part of the Royal Marines winter deployment inside the Arctic Circle.

To combat the cold, the troops have been learning how to construct shelters in the snow, travel huge distances on skis and navigate by using the stars.

And the troops have been taking part in several co-ordinated illumination fire missions, exercising the tactical ability of both the mortar section and mortar fire controls in the Arctic.

Under normal circumstances a two-man mortar team can ‘drop’ up to 30 rounds of 81mm mortar shells on enemy positions up to three miles away every minute. The weapons are carried into action on trailers attached to the marines’ all-weather, all-terrain BV tracked vehicles.

The week ended with ‘ice-breaking’, which saw the troops drop into the bracing water through a hole in a frozen lake and scramble out with their ski poles.

During their time in the Arctic, 40 Commando – usually based at Norton Manor camp near Taunton – have hosted Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson, who says the Arctic will assume ever growing importance in coming years and who took the opportunity to explain the Ministry of Defence’s forthcoming Arctic Strategy.

The Duke of Sussex also spent part of Valentine’s Day visiting Naval Service personnel in the region.

The Royal Marines have committed to a ten-year training programme with their Norwegian counterparts, which will see around 1,000 Marines travelling each year.

Captain Nate Brown, 27, from Coventry who oversaw one of the shoots, said: "It has been an excellent opportunity to fire the 81mm mortars in the Arctic.

“It is brilliant to embrace an environment where the Royal Marines are known as experts globally.

"It is a challenging place; one like no other. If we can function and excel the harshest places it maintains our ability to operate as specialists anywhere on the planet.”