U.S. Air Force F-35s and Royal Canadian Air Force CF-18s conducted combat air patrols in response to Russian military aircraft operating in the Arctic early this week, North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) said in a news release Jan. 30.
NORAD also said it sent two U.S. Air Force F-16s from Alaska to Greenland, “exercising its standard agreement with Greenland to forward posture NORAD presence in the Arctic,” but stated that the move was “not in response to any current threat.”
The Russian aircraft were operating in international airspace and did not enter the Alaskan or Canadian Air Defense Identification Zones or sovereign airspace, NORAD said in its release. The command did not identify the type of Russian planes, with a spokesperson citing “operational security” concerns, but NORAD indicated they were not seen as a threat.
“Under its mission of maintaining comprehensive domain awareness in the Arctic, NORAD launched a combat air patrol from its Canadian NORAD Region (CANR) to the northern region of Canada, and an air patrol from its Alaskan NORAD Region (ANR) off the coast of the Alaska/Yukon border, to further track the activity,” NORAD said of the Russian aircraft.
The patrols occurred Jan. 28, a NORAD spokesperson told Air & Space Forces Magazine. The Canadian patrol comprised two Canadian CF-18s and one KC-135 refueling aircraft, and the U.S. patrol consisted of two U.S. F-35s, one E-3 Sentry AWACS airborne warning and command and control aircraft, and two KC-135s.
On Jan. 28, an F-35 crashed at Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska. The pilot ejected from the F-35, was taken to a local military hospital, and has been released. The incident was unrelated to the NORAD activity that occurred on the same day, a spokesperson for the command said.
NORAD also did not specify where in Greenland its F-16s deployed, but the territory does host the northernmost U.S. military installation, Pituffik Space Base, a Space Force missile warning and satellite control site. Pituffik Space Base, formerly known as Thule Air Base, dates back to the 1950s when it was established as a Strategic Air Command base during the Cold War before transitioning to its early warning missile mission. Four Air Force F-35s deployed to Greenland in January 2023.
President Donald Trump has said he wants to buy Greenland from Denmark because of its strategic importance in the Arctic. Denmark has rebuffed that request.
“NORAD employs a layered defense network of satellites, ground-based and airborne radars, and fighter aircraft to detect and track aircraft and inform appropriate actions. NORAD remains ready to employ a number of response options in defense of North America,” the command added in his latest statement.