NORAD fighters are operating from Goose Bay, Newfoundland and Labrador, with refueling and search and rescue aircraft based at Bagotville, Quebec. In Iceland, Royal Danish Air Force fighters and a CL-604 Challenger are training alongside a French multirole tanker transport aircraft and NATO airborne warning and control aircraft.
The aircrews are planning and flying defensive counterair missions against advanced simulated threats. They are practicing the exchange of tactical data over secure communications to coordinate decisions and actions between allied forces.
The operation has also brought NORAD and Danish aircraft together at Kangerlussuaq, Greenland, for ground refueling. Fighters arriving from separate operating locations were coordinated with tanker and airborne warning and control support, while supporting aircraft stayed overhead until the fighters took off.
“We welcome NORAD forces to the region and value the experience and capabilities they bring to our combined operations,” said Maj. Gen. Jan Dam, chief of the Royal Danish Air Force. “Operating together in the air and on the ground builds the trust and coordination we need to strengthen our shared security in the Arctic.”
ARCTIC VANGUARD is a long-planned operation in a recurring series intended to strengthen forward presence and defend North America’s northern approaches. Some iterations are led by U.S. Northern Command, while operations conducted by both commands support the Nordic Bridge concept of aligning Arctic activities with NATO, national forces and regional partners.
