Operation NOBLE DEFENDER:Defending North America's Approaches - intercepting cruise missiles

From 12-14 September 2022,Operation NOBLE DEFENDER (OND) was executed by North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) in Alaska and the Northwest Territories.Mainly carried out over sparsely populated Arctic and Pacific areas at high altitude,there was little chance of the public noticing the drills.Areas traversed include Inuvik,Yellowknife,St.Lawrence Island,King Salmon,Ketchikan and west of Vancouver.OND was intended to validate NORAD'S ability to defend Canada and the US from every avenue of approach,demonstrating the capability to integrate with defence and security partners for a holistic,360-degree defence of the continent.* OND,a recurring series of drills,tested the ability to rapidly deploy military assets and carry out tactics,techniques and procedures in the designated areas.It demonstrated NORAD'S ability to quickly deter,defend and,if necessary,defeat adversaries of North America such as Russia,China and North Korea.Defensive manoeuvres were practised along the Northern and Western approaches to North America by all three NORAD Regions:Alaska NORAD Region (ANR);Canadian NORAD Region (CANR);and Continental U.S. NORAD Region (CONR).OND drew on military personnel and equipment support from Portland,Oregon;Cold Lake,Alberta;Colorado Springs,Colorado;Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson and Eielson Air Force Base,Alaska.* On 14 September,US Air Force F-15C Eagle fighters from the Oregon Air National Guard's 142d Wing took off from Portland ANG Base.There the operation exhibited the ability to launch at short notice from dispersed air and maritime locations to defend Northern approaches in multiple regions across all domains,displaying resiliance in the face of multiple and complex threats.During the drills,CONR also coordinated and conducted joint operations with the US Navy while concurrently launching jets from various locations across the US Gulf Coast and Puerto Rico.This phase of OND featured manoeuvres for defending the Southern approach to the US from simulated cruise missile threats.F-15C Eagles took off from Muniz ANG Base in Carolina,Puerto Rico.The OND addressed both current and evolving threats to North American defence and security.* An F-15E Strike Eagle can actually launch a cruise missile,the AGM-158B Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile-Extended Range (JASSM-ER),from a center pylon.This type of launch was simulated over the highly strategic Baltic Sea Region in 2021.* To shoot down a cruise missile,you have to know the missile's course and speed so you can intercept and destroy it.A heat-seeking anti-aircraft missile can destroy a cruise missile.So can an aircraft's cannon.As long as an aircraft has look-down-shoot-down capability,it can destroy a cruise missile,but it is very difficult to execute such a mission against the terrain-following,low-IR emission cruise missiles.

F-35s:Norway's New Solution for Rapid Response

On 6 January 2022 at 1145 hours local,Norway's Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighters officially assumed the Quick Reaction Alert mission from F-16 Fighting Falcons that had carried out the mission for 42 years,according to the Norwegian Ministry of Defence.The transfer occurred at the mission's new home,Evenes Air Base in Northern Norway,a bit farther north than the previous site at Bodo Air Base. Said Major General Rolf Folland,Chief,Royal Norwegian Air Force: F-35 has now received the baton from F-16,continuing to keep a constant guard.I sense a great pride today.* The Quick Reaction Alert mission is executed on behalf of NATO.It provides a response to unknown aircraft within 15 minutes.The interceptors find,observe and document any unknown aircraft that near Norway and NATO airspace.The Evenes F-35s are a detachment from the main F-35 base at Orland Air Base in Central Norway.Evenes is to be the most significant air base in Northern Norway,also serving as the main base for a fleet of P-8A Poseidon Maritime Patrol Aircraft.By 2025,Evenes will host about 500 employees and 300 conscripts to staff the base.Among the personnel will be an air defence battalion and a force protection squadron.Norway will acquire 52 F-35s by 2025.* Lockheed Martin says the F-35 is a decisive differentiator in near-peer warfare as the most advanced node in the networked 21st Century Warfare operational vision.It delivers vast amounts of information to accelerate critical decisions and prevail in warfighting.In additon to weapons in its internal weapons bay,the F-35 will also be capable of carrying the JASSM and JASSM-ER long-range,conventional strike air-to-ground cruise missile and the Long-Range Anti-Ship Missile (LRASM) under its wings,once integration is complete.* Lockheed Martin (LMT)

No Signs of Slowing Down:The Steadfast B-52H

In an unprecedented move,a US Air Force Boeing B-52H Stratofortress bomber called "Ghost Rider" has been taken out of retirement at the famous Boneyard storage facility at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base,Arizona.Thousands of planes are kept in storage at the bone-dry desert tract and occasionally used for spare parts.Till now,though,none had ever been returned to flight.
Ghost Rider was found to have dry rot in its fuel lines and on its tyres,but after a bit of refurbishment,it passed a runway test of its steering and landing gear,and its eight Pratt&Whitney engines fired right up.The flight control systems worked perfectly as well,so on 13 February the sturdy bomber was flown to Barksadale AFB,Louisiana,one of two bases that host the B-52Hs;the other is Minot AFB in North Dakota.Ghost Rider will take the place of a B-52 damaged in a cockpit fire.
The B-52s played a major role in the Vietnam War from 1964-73.Thirty-one of them were shot down,with the loss of 25 crewmembers.After Vietnam,they went on to serve over Iraq,Yugoslavia and Afghanistan in Operations Desert Storm in 1991 and Desert Strike in 1996;Operation Allied Force in 1999;Operation Enduring Freedom in 2001;and Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2003.The Stratofortress has been constantly upgraded and will be in service until 2045,according to the current plan.It has proven to be a superior economical and adaptable high subsonic speed bomber with substantial loiter capability.
In 2013,the fleet-wide technology upgrade called Combat Network Communications Technology,or CONECT,was begun to modernise technology,computing and flight deck avionics,and involved installing new modems,servers,radios,receivers,data links and digital workstations.From 2016-17,the Internal Weapons Bay Upgrade will be carried out,resulting in a 66% increase in weapons carriage capacity through installation of a digital interface and rotary launcher.JDAMS,aong with JASSM and MACD missiles will be carried internally in the weapons bay,giving the streamlined plane a 15% improvement in fuel mileage besides the increased firepower.
An airman enlisting today could well spend his or her entire career on the B-52H.*
Boeing(BA),United Technologies(UTX)