Two Danish F-35s landed at Kangerlussuaq Airport in Greenland on 16 September. It was the first time Danish F-35s had landed there. They trained alongside four US F-16s and two Canadian F-18s.
The exercise falls under NATO's Arctic Sentry mission, which aims to strengthen the alliance's presence in the Arctic. The Danish jets are based at Keflavik Air Base in Iceland. The US F-16s and Canadian F-18s flew in from Goose Bay, Canada. Each formation covered several hundred kilometres to reach Greenland.
PLA is the call sign of the Danish pilot who flew the mission. A French MRTT tanker refuelled the Danish jets en route. A NATO AWACS aircraft handled airspace surveillance, and a Danish Challenger flew search-and-rescue cover.
The exercise trains “the ability to synchronise the effort of many aircraft from different nations and bases spread out over great distances”, PLA said.
According to Danish Defence, a large part of the work on the mission “is already done before the aircraft take off”.
PLA stated that this time was spent “managing the risks that come with operating” in the region. The pilot points to the “harsh and rapidly changing” weather conditions and large distance between potential landing sites as some of the Arctic’s “special demands”
Danish F-16s have previously flown from Kangerlussuaq. A similar exercise took place in February under NORAD's Noble Defender, when Danish F-35s and a French tanker trained from Iceland alongside US and Canadian forces around Greenland’s eastern coast.