NORAD Holds Arctic Air Drills as Tensions With Russia Increase

Entering the fourth week of Russian President Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine, the battle for air superiority continues to play a significant role in the war's outcome. Over 4,000 miles away, U.S. and Canadian troops held a training exercise to bolster their air defense capabilities in the arctic.

The North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD), a binational defense operation between America and Canada, held its Operation Noble Defender in Yellowknife, Canada from March 14 to 17, where forces practiced responding to potential aircraft and cruise missile threats.

Major-General Eric Kenny, Commander for the Canadian NORAD Region, told Newsweek these trainings showcase the defense operation's "capabilities" and "readiness" to its adversaries. However, he said it also demonstrates that NORAD can control North America's arctic airspace, an important factor as the arctic continues to emerge as a place for global competition.

"We know Russia's capabilities, and I think it reinforces the importance of what we do within the NORAD mission set to provide air defense 24-7-365," Kenny told Newsweek. "We're seeing, the sea ice diminishing, competition resources increasing the Arctic."

"Therefore, at the NORAD enterprise, we need to make sure that our ability to monitor and control airspace, in particular that over North America, becomes just as important, if not more important, than in the past," he added.

Kenny notes that NORAD was initially created during the Cold War as a deterrent to the Soviet Union. As the U.S. shifts its military focus away from the war on terror to competing with fellow great powers, NORAD finds itself in a role similar to the one it played in the past.

The United States appears committed to shoring up its ability to carry out defense operations in the arctic regions of North America, particularly Alaska, having also recently overseen an arctic training under the U.S. Northern Command (USNORTHCOM) aimed to teach troops the skills needed in order to effectively operate in cold weather battle.

Elizabeth Buchanan, a lecturer of strategic studies for Deakin University at the Australian War College and a fellow of the Modern War Institute West Point, wrote a book on Russia's arctic strategy under Putin. She told Newsweek the arctic serves as a "a litmus test for many global security challenges," including climate change, resource insecurity and great power competition.

"The region has clear short-term challenges — how to remain engaged with Russia in the wake of the Ukraine War is one aspect — but the long-term challenges also necessitate U.S. Arctic capability, particularly around Chinese naval and maritime expansionist agendas," Buchanan told Newsweek.

"Beyond space, the arctic is perhaps the next frontier for real-time great power competition as we emerge in a multipolar world order," she added.

Security issues in the arctic extend far beyond control of fossil fuel exploration and fishing rights, Buchanan said. Informational power, in particular data security, has emerged as a key resource of the arctic.

Buchanan said that new cables are being put in the arctic to connect Asia and Europe in a move to increase the speed of data transfers that could be used for global financial markets. Should these channels become controlled by Russia, the West could face potential security challenges, Buchanan said.

Kenny said that as climate change reduces sea ice in the arctic the area is becoming easier to access. Ships are passing through the area at higher rates and natural resources are becoming more accessible than ever. As the adversaries to the West ramp up their activities in the region, both commercial and military, Kenny said NORAD must be prepared for any future defense challenges.

"We do see countries such as Russia and China building up their infrastructure in the north, or the capabilities to operate in the north, at a very advanced rate," Kenny told Newsweek.

'And that in itself, based on all the different competing interests will lead to competition, and therefore, for sure, a security Nexus, if not a defense Nexus," he added.