A NORAD F-15C aircraft from the Massachusetts Air National Guard’s 104th Fighter Wing receives fuel from a KC-135 Stratotanker during Operation Noble Defender.
THE WATCH STAFF
Another iteration of a joint military operation conducted by the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) and U.S. Northern Command (USNORTHCOM) began August 15, 2023, in Alaska, and involved personnel and equipment from the U.S. Air Force, Army, Navy, Marines and the Royal Canadian Armed Forces.
The latest chapter of Operation Noble Defender, which ended September 10, demonstrates the capability of the United States and Canada to detect and deter potential threats to North America and the Arctic region while operating in extreme elements, according to a NORAD news release.
Historically, Operation Noble Defender has involved NORAD aircraft, including warplanes and early warning and tanker aircraft. The USNORTHCOM component of U.S. Special Operations Command, Special Operations Command North, also participated. Special operations forces landed in remote locations to practice defending infrastructure while increasing their knowledge of the region.
Operation Noble Defender occurs throughout the year and demonstrates NORAD’s ability to maintain mission readiness and show its capability to conduct follow-up operations.
In September 2022, NORAD conducted an Arctic air defense operation in Alaska and the Northwest Territories involving military aircraft and personnel from the U.S. and Canada.
In January 2023, Noble Defender featured the F-35A Lightning II, the world’s most advanced fighter aircraft deployed to Pituffik Space Base in Greenland, in support of the operation. Defense News reported on January 10, 2023, that Russia launched its annual polar mission with TU-160 bombers during the operation.
The U.S. stealth jets were joined in the January 2023 operation by Royal Canadian Air Force CF-18 Hornets, operating out of Iqaluit Airport in Nunavut in the Canadian North. Other air assets involved in that operation included refueling tankers, an E-3 Airborne Warning and Control System plane, and CH-149 rescue helicopter.
“Our ability to operate in the Arctic is critical to our ability to defend our homelands,” Gen. Glen D. VanHerck, commander of NORAD and USNORTHCOM, said at the time.
As the Arctic warms and opens navigation to ships in formerly ice-bound waterways, the region has become a strategic crossroads. Russia and the People’s Republic of China have increased military activities in the region as well as U.S. allies such as Canada and the Nordic nations. Competition for natural resources and national security interests has ratcheted up the importance of maintaining military readiness for the approach to the U.S. homeland.
“The Alaskan NORAD Region provides an ongoing capability to detect, validate, and warn of any aircraft and/or cruise missile threat in its area of operations that could threaten North American security,” the release stated.