PETERSON SPACE FORCE BASE, Colo. – North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) and U.S. Northern Command (USNORTHCOM) will conduct ARCTIC EDGE 2026 (AE26), a joint and combined multi-domain Field Training Exercise (FTX) in various locations throughout Alaska and Greenland from Feb. 23 - March 13, 2026. All training activities in Greenland are conducted in full coordination with the Kingdom of Denmark. Municipalities closest to the designated military exercise operating areas include Anchorage, Kodiak, Fairbanks, and Kotzebue in Alaska, and Kangerlussuaq and Nuuk in Greenland.
This exercise will include NORAD and USNORTHCOM forces from Air Forces Northern, Army North, Naval Forces Northern, Marine Forces Northern, Special Operations Command North, Alaskan NORAD Region, Canadian NORAD Region, Alaska Command, and the Continental U.S. NORAD Region. AE26 also includes participation from Denmark, Canada, Alaska National Guard, and interagency partners including the FBI, U.S. Coast Guard, NOAA, FAA, Alaska DHS, Alaska State and local law enforcement, and Alaska Native communities.
AE26 is designed to improve readiness, demonstrate capabilities, and enhance interoperability among multinational, interagency, and Joint Force partners in the Arctic. Key exercise objectives include integrating all-domain command-and-control relationships to support Homeland Defense missions in the Arctic region. This will include:
- Cruise Missile Defense
- Coordination with State and Interagency partners on the protection of non-Department of War Critical Infrastructure (e.g., power grids, oil refineries) within the Alaska Theater of Operations.
- Counter-small Unmanned Aerial Systems capabilities and synchronizing base defense responsibilities
- Conducting joint and service-level experimentation and technology demonstration in the Arctic
- In Greenland, arctic survival and mobility training
AE26 is an annual exercise designed to demonstrate engaged forces that are postured and ready to secure North America in an increasingly complex Arctic security environment.
Video and imagery of Arctic Edge 2026 will be posted at DVIDS - Arctic Edge 2026.
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NOTE TO EDITORS: For further information, please contact NORAD and U.S. Northern Command Public Affairs at (719) 554-6889 or email us at n-ncpa.omb@mail.mil.