U.S. Northern Command and Alaskan Command linked Alaska-based F-35A fighters, an E-3 Sentry and tanker support over the Bering Sea during Operation TUNDRA MERLIN, as U.S. and Canadian forces rehearsed a multi-domain maritime strike scenario about 100 nautical miles north of Dutch Harbor. The activity, carried out in late September, paired airborne warning and control with fifth-generation sensors and aerial refuelling alongside U.S. Coast Guard, Royal Canadian Navy and Royal Canadian Air Force units.
The drill focused on a faster Arctic kill chain, with sensor data passed across air, surface and subsurface forces to build a shared tactical picture and shorten response times in North America’s northern approaches. The air component was designed to show how the E-3 could manage the broader airspace and direct fighters while the F-35As used sensor fusion to identify and track targets. Maritime patrol aircraft from Canada also took part, extending the networked targeting picture across the wider exercise area.
Operation TUNDRA MERLIN has been used this year to test binational Arctic defence cooperation and interoperability across the Bering Sea and adjacent approaches. Earlier phases included combined U.S.-Canadian maritime activity, while the September segment brought together the air and sea elements in a single strike network, underlining the reliance on airborne early warning, stealth fighters, tankers and allied command integration in the far north.