"Any gear that is forward-deployed both reduces cost and speeds up our ability to support operations in crisis, so we're able to fall in on gear that is ready-to-go and respond to whatever that crisis may be," Colonel William Bentley, operations officer for the 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade, said in a statement.
Russia shares a 195-km long border with Norway. The border was heavily militarised during the Cold War, and the Russian navy's Northern Fleet is in Murmansk, about 160 km from the border.
The secured cave complex is a modern and robust facility, staffed by about 100 Norwegian and US personnel, and it contains enough equipment to support 15,000 Marines.
The deployment of new equipment to the caves comes amid renewed tensions between NATO and Russia, CNN reported.
Heather Conley, director of the Center for Strategic and International Studies' Europe Programme, said changes in the geopolitical landscape had once again made the caves a strategic asset.
Conley said the new military exercises were critical to ensuring that NATO could test its equipment and personnel in cold weather environments.
Some 6,500 pieces of the equipment in the cave will be used in an upcoming training exercise, Cold Response 16, which will take place later this month, the Marines said.
The announcement comes just days after the US announced it was spending USD 3.4 billion for the European Reassurance Initiative in an effort to deter Russian 'aggression' against NATO allies.
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