The aircraft carrier Gerald R. Ford, the world's largest aircraft carrier, sailed for Oslo on Wednesday, the first participation of a US ship of this type in a NATO show of strength at a time of heightened tensions between the alliance and Russia over the Ukraine war.
The Norwegian military said the ship and its crew would conduct exercises with the Norwegian armed forces along the country's coast in the coming days.
Johnny Carlsen, spokesman for the Norwegian Joint Command, the military's operations command center, said: "This visit is an important signal of the close bilateral relationship between the United States and Norway and an indication of the credibility of collective defense and deterrence."
Norwegian media reported that the aircraft carrier would sail north of the Arctic Circle, but Carlsen declined to comment on the news.
The Russian embassy in Oslo condemned the aircraft carrier's visit to Oslo.
The embassy said in a Facebook post: "There are no problems in the North (Arctic) that require a military solution, nor issues that need external intervention."
"Given that Oslo has acknowledged that Russia does not pose a direct military threat to Norway, such a show of force seems illogical and harmful."
NATO member Norway shares a border with Russia in the Arctic region and last year became Europe's biggest gas supplier after Russian gas flows plummeted.
The Norwegian military and other NATO members have been patrolling offshore oil and gas platforms since autumn, following explosions at Nord Stream pipelines in the Baltic Sea.