High Northern Watch

NORAD is projecting air defense fighters to remote forward operating locations in the far north and High Arctic this week for Exercise Amalgam Dart, Canadian defense officials announced. “Amalgam Dart challenges our forces to deploy and operate in the most challenging environment our continent has to offer,” NORAD regional commander Royal Canadian Air Force Maj. Gen. David Wheeler said in a May 25 release. “This year will have the unique component of pushing our personnel to perform their mission in the most northern limits of our area of responsibility,” he added. A total of 300 Air Force and RCAF personnel and 15 jets will deploy May 25 to June 1 to remote bases in Alaska and Canada to practice coordinating and responding to air threats. F-15s are deployed to FOL Yellowknife and RCAF F-18s to FOL Inuvik in Canada’s northwest, while a mobile radar station was set up in the High Arctic, according to the release. In Alaska, F-22s stage from Elmendorf AFB, Alaska, and Air Force KC-135 and RCAF CC-150 tankers stage from Eielson AFB, Alaska. (Map of RCAF bases)