Sept. 18-22 drills about 100 nautical miles north of Dutch Harbor had U.S. and Canadian forces rehearse a joint maritime strike, linking warships, patrol aircraft, F-35s and an E-3 to find and engage simulated targets.
Lt. Gen. Robert Davis said the exercise was built to prove forces can rapidly assemble combat power across Alaska and the Bering Sea, then pass targeting data quickly enough to deter or answer threats approaching North America.
A separate Tundra Merlin event moved a HIMARS launcher and AN/TPQ-53 radar into western Alaska on a Canadian C-17, where F-35s and HIMARS synchronized on a simulated target about 135 miles away.
The Pentagon says the Arctic is becoming more contested as melting sea ice opens access and Russia-China military cooperation expands; Alaska sits just 55 miles from Russia at the Bering Strait.
That push comes after NORAD's first joint intercept of Russian and Chinese bombers near Alaska in July 2024, underscoring why U.S. planners want forces able to survive and fight in extreme Arctic conditions.