A pair of New York Air National Guard LC-130 ski-equipped transports supported Operation Nunalivut, a Canadian Arctic exercise, for the second consecutive year, announced Air Guard officials. In light of Russian belligerence toward NATO and increased military activity in the Arctic, “we feel that these exercises are ever-more important to exert our sovereignty and our ability to respond,” said Canadian associate defense minister Julian Fantino in a report by the Canadian Nunatsiaq News. “We’re looking to continue standing up against any threat to our sovereignty and stand ready at any moment to defend our people, land, and interests,” he added. The LC-130s are practicing operating from ice runways and working with the Canadian forces during the exercise, which concludes on April 22. Approximately 200 Canadian troops and 30 US airmen from the 109th Airlift Wing at Stratton ANGB, N.Y., are taking part in the exercise.
As the Air Force readied for its June 21-22 strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities, the service was also putting its Agile Combat Employment strategy into action, dispersing combat aircraft and Airmen from Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar in preparation for a possible Iranian retaliatory attack. Some defense experts say…
