U.S. and Canadian forces to rehearse joint maritime strike exercises in the Bering Sea

U.S. and Canadian forces will conduct joint maneuvers in the Bering Sea from Sept. 18 to 22, about 100 nautical miles north of Dutch Harbor, under the command and control of U.S. Northern Command and Alaskan Command’s Operation TUNDRA MERLIN.

The operation will bring together U.S. Coast Guard and Royal Canadian Navy surface and subsurface vessels, alongside Royal Canadian Air Force maritime patrol and reconnaissance aircraft and Alaska-based U.S. Air Force F-35 fighters and E-3 Airborne Warning and Control System aircraft to enable multi-domain operations.

Across the four-day event, the binational force will carry out multiple simulated maritime target engagements. The activities aim to validate the flow of targeting information and exercise engagement processes to boost joint force capabilities to defeat threats to the homelands.

“Our ability to detect activity, make timely decisions, and position forces where they are needed gives a potential adversary reason to reconsider aggression,” said U.S. Air Force Lt. Gen. Robert Davis, commander of Alaskan Command, the Alaskan North American Aerospace Defense Command Region and Eleventh Air Force. “Every TUNDRA MERLIN event prepares the force to fight and win in the Arctic, strengthens command and control, and improves our ability to operate seamlessly across services and nations, reinforcing the credibility of our collective defense.”

Operation TUNDRA MERLIN integrates forces assigned to NORAD and USNORTHCOM with U.S. allies and mission partners to deter potential threats to the homelands in the Alaskan Theater of Operations.