Canadian NORAD Region to lead bi-national exercise in the North and High Arctic

News Release

May 25, 2015

OTTAWA — The Canadian NORAD Region will lead an exercise that will see Canadian and American military personnel and aircraft deploying to various locations in the North and High Arctic to train in aerospace detection and defence from 25 May to 1 June, 2015.

Exercise AMALGAM DART will involve approximately 300 military personnel and 15 aircraft staging air operations from Alaska, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut to confirm integration procedures of NORAD’s bi-national force and benefit from realistic training scenarios in the North and High Arctic.

Quick Facts

The North American Aerospace Defence Command (NORAD) is a bi-national command formed by a partnership between Canada and the United States. NORAD provides maritime warning, aerospace warning and aerospace control for North America.
Exercise AMALGAM DART provides valuable field training involving multiple NORAD regions and the deployment of air assets to Forward Operating Locations (FOL) in Canada allowing NORAD to maintain a credible, flexible and ready capability to respond to a variety of threats and situations.
Exercise AMALGAM DART aims to deploy aerospace detection assets to the northern limit of its area of responsibility, deploy air assets and sustain military operations from Forward Operating Locations, and maintain the highest level of readiness of its bi-national force.
The participation of the following aircraft and personnel from Canada and the US is planned for exercise AMALGAM DART:
- at FOL Yellowknife: U.S. F-15 Eagles;
- at FOL Inuvik: RCAF CF-18 Hornets and a CC-130T Hercules air-to-air refueller;
- in Resolute Bay: a RCAF mobile radar squadron;
- at Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska: U.S. KC-135 Stratotankers and a RCAF CC-150T Polaris air-to-air refueller; and
- at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska: U.S. F-22 fighters and E-3 Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) aircraft.

Quotes

“Canada remains an active partner in securing North American airspace. We proudly contribute to the only bi-national military organization in the world, NORAD; and exercises like AMALGAM DART demonstrate both our countries’ commitment to meeting our common national security goals in vital regions of our continent such as the North and High Arctic.”
The Honourable Jason Kenney, Minister of National Defence

“NORAD plays a critical role in the defence of our homelands, and this mission has never been more important. Exercise AMALGAM DART builds on our previous successes to ensure we can provide the governments of Canada and the United States with an agile and capable force. Through exercises such as these, we will continue to prepare NORAD forces to face all air threats to our homelands, including those coming from the North and High Arctic.”
Admiral William E. Gortney, Commander, NORAD and United States Northern Command

“Exercise AMALGAM DART challenges our forces to deploy and operate in the most challenging environment our continent has to offer. While the Canadian NORAD Region was entrusted to lead this year’s effort, it is only through the seamless integration and cooperation of our partners from the other NORAD regions that we can meet our objectives. This year will have the unique component of pushing our personnel to perform their mission in the most northern limits of our area of responsibility.”
Major-General David Wheeler, Commander, 1 Canadian Air Division / Canadian NORAD Region

Associated Links

Imagery: DVIDS and Canadian Armed Forces Imagery Gallery
NORAD
The Royal Canadian Air Force

- 30 –

Media inquiries

Media Relations
Department of National Defence
Phone: 613-996-2353
Toll-Free: 1-866-377-0811
Email: mlo-blm@forces.gc.ca

Search for related information by keyword

Hon. Jason Kenney National Defence and the Canadian Armed Forces Military

Page details

2016-12-14

We have archived this page and will not be updating it.

We have archived this page and will not be updating it.

Canadian NORAD Region to lead bi-national exercise in the North and High Arctic

News Release

Page details