Arctic Air Operations: Canada and United States Agile Fighter Employment in Defence of North America

On Wednesday, 19 May 2021, RUSI(NS), and North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) and United States Northern Command (USNORTHCOM) hosted Colonel David Moar, Royal Canadian Air Forces, Commander 4 Wing; and Colonel Micah Fesler, United States Air Force, Commander 140th Wing. The topic of their presentations was “Arctic Air Operations: Canada and United States Agile Fighter Employment in Defence of North America.”

NORAD and USNORTHCOM has “The Watch” and stands ready to defend our homelands and protect the populations of the United States and Canada every day. NORAD is the crown jewel of Canada-United States (CANUS) Defense Cooperation. After 60 years, NORAD remains the only binational military command in the world. Throughout 2020, NORAD intercepted 14 Russian military aircraft entering CANUS Defense Identification Zones (ADIZ) – the most post-Cold War intercepts since 2012, when Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine. In response, NORAD has conducted dozens of exercises and patrols including ARCEX, ARCTIC WARRIOR, AMALGAM DART and NOBLE DEFENDER to execute dynamic force employment operations that bring to bear the full, scaled range of NORAD capabilities into the Arctic. The presentations highlighted NORAD Arctic air operations and the close bi-national cooperation between the Royal Canadian Air Force and United States Air Force in conducting agile fighter deployment in defence of North America.

A PDF of Colonel Moar’s presentation is available here. A PDF of Colonel Fesler’s presentation is available here.