US Air Force F-16 Fighting Falcons and a KC-135 Stratotanker fly in formation during aerial refueling over Greenland on Sept. 16, as part of Operation Arctic Vanguard. The joint and multinational operation is testing cold-weather combat readiness and allied capabilities across the Arctic. US Air Force photo by Maj. David Brown.
Sept. 18, 2026 – F-16 Fighting Falcons from Eielson Air Force Base have deployed through Canada and into the High North for a multinational operation designed to demonstrate that Alaska-based combat aircraft can rapidly defend North America’s northern approaches.
The Alaskan North American Aerospace Defense Command Region sent the fighters to Goose Bay in Newfoundland and Labrador as part of Operation Arctic Vanguard 26-4.2, underway from Sept. 13 through Sept. 26.
The Alaska-based forces are operating alongside the Canadian NORAD Region before moving forward into Greenland, where American personnel and aircraft will conduct missions in austere Arctic conditions with forces from the Kingdom of Denmark and other NATO nations.
The operation places Alaska at the starting point of a defense corridor stretching across Canada and into Greenland, testing whether combat aircraft can be dispersed, supplied and operated across immense distances with limited infrastructure and extreme weather.
Royal Canadian Air Force strategic airlift is supporting the deployment of the Eielson fighters. The operation is intended to validate NORAD’s ability to move multirole combat aircraft from the Pacific theater into forward Arctic operating locations while maintaining integrated aerospace warning, control and air-superiority capabilities across national and regional command boundaries.
“Operation Arctic Vanguard demonstrates that austere conditions and vast distances present no barrier to NORAD’s collective defense,” said Air Force Lt. Gen. Robert D. Davis, commander of the Alaskan NORAD Region.
“Deploying combat airpower from Alaska across Canada and forward into Greenland validates our agile combat capabilities and demonstrates our seamless integration with the Canadian NORAD Region, the Kingdom of Denmark and our NATO allies,” Davis said. “Together, we maintain continuous vigilance and credible deterrence across North America’s northern approaches.”
Arctic Vanguard supports the NORAD and US Northern Command “Nordic Bridge” concept, which coordinates Arctic operations, training, exercises and defense investments among US combatant commands, NATO members and regional partners.
The broader goal is to establish a more consistent multinational military presence across the Arctic, with allied forces able to operate in multiple locations and across several defense domains.
Operation Arctic Vanguard is part of a recurring series of NORAD and Northern Command missions intended to increase military presence in the North, test operations from forward Arctic locations and strengthen the defense of the continent’s northern approaches.
The latest deployment helps highlight Eielson Air Force Base’s importance to continental defense. Alaska’s geography allows American aircraft to move east across the North American Arctic or west into the Indo-Pacific, making the state a central platform for responding to threats approaching from either direction.
This article was adapted from a Sept. 17 report by Alaskan Command Public Affairs and the Alaskan NORAD Region, published by the U.S. Department of War.
