A Canadian CF-18 Hornet fighter jet from the Canadian NORAD region escorts a U.S. Boeing B-52 Stratofortress in Canadian airspace on March 17, 2025. OPERATION GLOBAL GUARDIAN 25-2
THE WATCH STAFF
North American and European air forces conducted Operation Global Guardian on March 17, 2025, to demonstrate the advantage of global alliances, layered all-domain defense and the seamless integration of Quick Response Alert (QRA) fighters and ground-based air defense networks between the North American Arctic and Northern European Arctic. Air forces from six nations participated, including Canada, Denmark, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and the United States.
Operation Global Guardian is a series of biannual, combined air operations that started in February 2024 to highlight the collaboration and integration among allies in the defense of the North American Arctic and Northern European Arctic. It showcased how North American and European air forces can provide a continuous and coordinated air defense cover against long-range aviation threats.
In his 2025 posture statement delivered on February 13, 2025, Gen. Gregory M. Guillot, commander of United States Northern Command (USNORTHCOM) and North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD), emphasized the importance of global alliances and partnerships. “USNORTHCOM and NORAD are working in close synchronization with each command’s interagency, international, and DOD partners to improve shared all-domain awareness, interoperability, and the defeat mechanisms required for a layered all-domain defense capable of deterring and defeating a wide range of threats to critical infrastructure, force projection capability, and our citizens,” he said.
Operation Global Guardian is part of the Department of Defense’s (DOD) multi-combatant command exercise series, with U.S. Indo-Pacific Command (USINDOPACOM) as the lead combatant command for 2025. USINDOPACOM’s Large Scale Global Exercise 25 (LSGE 25), also supporting the DOD’s series, is designed to practice mobilization and deployment in the Indo-Pacific theater. The LGSE 25 is a demonstration of joint air power involving nearly 300 aircraft and thousands of personnel. Other participating DOD combatant commands in Operation Global Guardian included U.S. Strategic Command and U.S. Transportation Command.”
A key contributor to Operation Global Guardian is the Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF), which consists of 10 northern European nations committed to coordinated exercises and defense activities to preserve peace and security, reassure allies and partners and deter malign influence activities in the High North, northern Atlantic, Scandinavia, Baltic Sea region and Baltic countries. The JEF includes Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and the United Kingdom. The U.K. provides the permanent operational headquarters for the JEF at the Standing Joint Force Headquarters in Northwood, with Maj. Gen. Tom Bateman as the commander.
The JEF’s Assistant Chief of Staff, Group Capt. Jonathan Eastlake, stated, “Global Guardian exemplifies the strength and unity of the JEF and our close collaboration with allies, to safeguard the air space of both Northern Europe and North America from a distance. Our integration with strategic capabilities such as B-52s allows us to enhance our operational readiness and coordination with every iteration of Global Guardian.”
On March 17, 2025, QRA fighters scrambled to intercept a pair of United States Air Force (USAF) B-52 bombers that were simulating enemy aircraft entering the NATO and North American Air Defense Identification Zones. Relying on ground-based air defense networks in Iceland and the U.K., the “enemy aircraft” were expertly tracked and QRA fighters were launched in Europe from Denmark, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden to intercept the B-52 Bomber Task Force. In North America, Royal Canadian Air Force and USAF QRA fighters were launched to intercept them.
In summary, Operation Global Guardian demonstrated the advantage of global alliances, layered all-domain defense and the seamless integration of QRA fighters and ground-based air defense networks between the North American Arctic and the Northern European Arctic. The operation showcased the collaboration and integration among the air forces of Canada, Denmark, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden to present a unified front against potential long-range aviation threats.