Bilateral Defence Agreement with the United States
In September 2006, Iceland and the United States concluded a series of documents related to the application of the Defence Agreement between Iceland and the United States of 1951, after the withdrawal of United States forces from Iceland. These documents include a Joint Understanding that establishes a framework for regular security consultations between Iceland and the US, which entails periodic senior-level strategic discussion and expert-level discussions on security issues, both military and non-military. Under this framework, Iceland and the US hold regular consultations on issues pertaining to the political, security and defence relations of the two countries, as well as international issues of mutual interest.
The United States participates in exercises and conducts air surveillance missions in Iceland. Northern Viking is a bilateral exercise between Iceland and the USA which is held in Iceland bi-annually.