US deploys HIMARS to the Arctic in Operation Tundra Merlin

NOME, Alaska — U.S. Northern Command deployed an M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System to Nome, Alaska, on July 31, 2026, in support of Operation TUNDRA MERLIN.

The 17th Field Artillery Brigade, I Corps, moved the launcher from Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington, to Nome aboard a Royal Canadian Air Force C-17 Globemaster III. En route, the aircraft stopped at Fort Wainwright, Alaska, to transport Soldiers from the 1st Battalion, 5th Infantry Regiment, 1st Mobile Brigade Combat Team (Air Assault), 11th Airborne Division, who are also participating in Operation TUNDRA MERLIN.

The deployment brings mobile, long-range precision fires to the Alaskan theater and demonstrates the ability of U.S. and Canadian forces to rapidly move combat equipment and personnel across the Arctic in defense of the homeland and its approaches.

“This deployment under Operation TUNDRA MERLIN demonstrates our ability to rapidly deploy forces and seamlessly integrate joint capabilities across the Arctic,” said U.S. Army Maj. Gen. John Cogbill, 11th Airborne Division commander. “By deploying alongside the HIMARS, we are proving our readiness to deter adversaries by demonstrating lethal, long-range precision capabilities that can hold their assets at risk.”

Operation TUNDRA MERLIN integrates assigned forces and prepares them to deter potential threats and defeat them in the Alaskan theater of operations.