US Northern Command (USNORTHCOM) and Alaska Command (ALCOM) have wrapped up a heightened readiness season, testing flexible deterrence options under Operation Tundra Merlin. Operation Tundra Merlin is an enduring U.S.-Canadian homeland-defense operation in the Alaskan Theater of Operations, rather than a single exercise. Under USNORTHCOM and ALCOM, it integrates... U.S. forces assigned to NORAD and USNORTHCOM with Canadian forces and other mission partners. Tundra Merlin provides the Commander of USNORTHCOM or ALCOM with a range of options to both deter and/or respond to potential adversaries who may present themselves in the region. This year's activities have included integrated air and land operations near Nome, multiple combined maritime patrols in the Bering Sea and Bering Strait, and a larger joint maritime-strike scenario, encompassing more than 1,300 personnel, 30 aircraft, and 8 ships from the U.S. and Canadian Armed Forces. Near Nome on August 4 and 6, two F-35s, two F-16s and a KC-135 from Eielson AFB operated alongside a HIMARS launcher, an AN/TPQ-53 radar and 11th Airborne Division soldiers. The HIMARS and F-35s were synchronized to engage a simulated target approximately 135 miles away, combining long-range precision fires, offensive and defensive counterair, and aerial refueling in a single mission. The HIMARS had been deployed from Joint Base Lewis-McChord to Nome aboard a Royal Canadian Air Force C-17, which stopped at Fort Wainwright to pick up 11th Airborne Division soldiers. At sea, the U.S. and Canada conducted multiple combined operations. In July, USCGC Munro, Storis and Fir sailed with the Royal Canadian Navy's HMCS Max Bernays on a five day, 800 mile patrol through the Bering Sea and Bering Strait. A second combined sail paired Max Bernays with USCGC Stratton in August, followed by a third sail involving Max Bernays and Munro in September. The September activity expanded the concept further, integrating U.S. and Canadian surface and subsurface vessels with RCAF maritime patrol aircraft, U.S. Air Force F-35s and an E-3 Sentry to rehearse detection, targeting and simulated maritime strikes. The individual events are being conducted as Flexible Deterrent Options under the broader, enduring TUNDRA MERLIN operation, allowing U.S. and Canadian forces to repeatedly integrate air, land and maritime capabilities across Alaska's Arctic approaches. U.S. Air Force Lt. Gen. Robert D. Davis, commander of the Alaskan North American Aerospace Defense Command Region, Alaskan Command and Eleventh Air Force, delivers a recap of the heightened campaign season for Operation Tundra Merlin.show more

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