{"id":16913,"date":"2021-04-01T23:45:43","date_gmt":"2021-04-01T23:45:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2021\/04\/01\/northern-edge-brings-firepower-to-alaska-with-an-eye-on-arctic-jockeying\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T20:21:06","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T20:21:06","slug":"northern-edge-brings-firepower-to-alaska-with-an-eye-on-arctic-jockeying","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/smr\/frozen-pathways\/2021\/04\/01\/northern-edge-brings-firepower-to-alaska-with-an-eye-on-arctic-jockeying\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Northern Edge\u2019 brings firepower to Alaska, with an eye on Arctic jockeying"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

This story has been updated with additional information from Pacific Air Forces on participation by the Army and the Space Force.<\/i><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ten thousand troops will descend on the High North this spring to practice how the U.S. military might react if simmering tensions in the Arctic reach a boiling point.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Air Force\u2019s team in the Pacific will lead the Army, Navy and Marine Corps in the biennial, 12-day Northern Edge exercise beginning May 3.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNorthern Edge allows [U.S. Indo-Pacific Command\u2019s] joint force to \u2026 put all the pieces of the puzzle together, the big picture, and allow our younger generations within the armed forces to experience what future conflict could feel like, and the complexities associated with it,\u201d Air Force Lt. Col. Michael Boyer, the lead planner for Northern Edge, told reporters Wednesday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This year\u2019s iteration of Northern Edge comes as Russian military aircraft in 2020 flew near Alaskan airspace \u201cmore \u2026 than we\u2019ve seen in any year since the end of the Cold War,\u201d according to U.S. Northern Command and North American Aerospace Defense Command boss Gen. Glen VanHerck.<\/p>\n\n\n\t