Exercise Northern Edge

Exercise Northern Edge
Name	Northern Edge
Partof	Pacific Air Forces
Date	Biennial; recent editions 2017–2023
Type	Large-force joint and combined air, maritime, and ground exercise
Location	Alaska, United States
Participants	United States United States Air Force, United States Navy, United States Marine Corps, United States Army, United States Coast Guard, allied forces
Status	Active

Exercise Northern Edge is a recurring joint and combined large-force training exercise conducted in the north Pacific and Alaskan training ranges to integrate aviation, maritime, and ground operations for contingency readiness. It brings together assets and personnel from multiple services and allied militaries to practice complex warfighting scenarios, command and control, and interagency coordination near strategic choke points and high-latitude approaches. The exercise supports interoperability among commands, wings, fleets, and task forces while leveraging regional training ranges, instrumentation, and logistics hubs.

Overview

Northern Edge is a major air-centric biennial exercise emphasizing multi-domain integration among components of United States Indo-Pacific Command, Alaskan Command, and service major commands such as Pacific Air Forces and U.S. Fleet Forces Command. The event synchronizes sorties, surface maneuvers, and intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) sorties with electronic warfare, aerial refueling, and logistics operations centered on Alaskan ranges and the Gulf of Alaska. Command and control participants include headquarters elements like U.S. Northern Command, U.S. Strategic Command, 11th Air Force, and carrier strike groups composed under Carrier Strike Group 3 and similar formations. Exercises often reference interoperability standards codified by organizations such as NATO and employ communications and data links compatible with programs like Joint All-Domain Command and Control.

History

Northern Edge traces lineage to Cold War-era training in high-latitude environments involving units from Alaskan Air Command and later transitions reflecting post-Cold War force posture changes under Air Combat Command and Pacific Air Forces. Over successive iterations, participants expanded from primarily United States Air Force tactical fighter wings—such as units flying F-22 Raptor, F-16 Fighting Falcon, and F-15 Eagle—to include carrier aviation, Boeing P-8 Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft, and unmanned systems like the General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper. Historical milestones include integrated maritime strike packages working alongside surface combatants such as Arleigh Burke-class destroyers and amphibious shipping associated with United States Third Fleet and United States Seventh Fleet taskings. Exercises have mirrored doctrinal shifts seen in publications issued by Joint Chiefs of Staff and strategy documents related to the National Defense Strategy.

Objectives and Training Activities

Primary objectives include high-end air superiority training, suppression of enemy air defenses (SEAD), maritime strike, anti-submarine warfare (ASW), intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR), and joint close air support (JCAS). Training activities feature coordinated sorties by platforms like the Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II, AH-64 Apache, and transport/tanker support from KC-135 Stratotanker and KC-10 Extender. Electronic warfare components involve systems such as the EA-18G Growler and integration with signals and cyber elements under concepts practiced by Cyber Command-associated planners. Command post exercises (CPX) and live-fly events incorporate targeting workflows tied to intelligence sources like National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency products and coordination with Federal Aviation Administration-managed airspace procedures where applicable.

Participants and Organization

Participants encompass U.S. service units and allied contingents from partner nations that have included forces aligned with Japan Self-Defense Forces, Royal Canadian Air Force, and other Pacific partners. Organizational control flows through joint task force headquarters typically led by a regional joint commander coordinating component commanders: air component (e.g., 11th Air Force), maritime component (e.g., a numbered fleet staff), and land component elements drawn from formations like U.S. Army Alaska. Support elements include logistics groups, medical units such as U.S. Army Medical Command detachments, and range control organizations associated with installations like Eielson Air Force Base and Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson. Liaison officers from agencies including Alaska Department of Fish and Game and civil authorities sometimes attend coordination meetings for safety and airspace deconfliction.

Locations and Range Use

The exercise uses expansive training areas across Alaska including airspace over the Gulf of Alaska, restricted ranges near the Alaska Range, and sea space in the North Pacific. Key installations and facilities include Eielson Air Force Base, Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, and maritime ranges accessible from ports such as Dutch Harbor and Kodiak Island. Range instrumentation involves telemetry, tracking radars, and scoring systems similar to those deployed at continental ranges like Nellis Air Force Base and maritime test ranges associated with Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake. Naval surface and submarine operations may occur in areas overlapping federal maritime safety zones coordinated with the United States Coast Guard.

Environmental and Community Impact

Northern Edge operations are coordinated with civil aviation authorities and state agencies to mitigate impacts on communities and wildlife. Environmental considerations involve review under statutes such as the National Environmental Policy Act and consultations with entities like the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service when training overlaps sensitive habitat for species monitored by organizations including Audubon Society affiliates. Community impacts have prompted public notices, town-hall engagements with municipal governments—e.g., cabinets of local boroughs and tribal councils—and coordination with industries such as commercial fisheries and aviation carriers like Alaska Airlines. Monitoring programs and mitigation measures aim to balance readiness requirements with protection of marine mammals, migratory birds, and subsistence resources overseen by state and federal partners.

Category:Military exercises