The Royal Danish Air Force operates with the United States and Canada in the North Atlantic

By Defence Command Denmark

Over the past two weeks, Danish aircraft have participated in “Operation Noble Defender” in the Arctic. This is an annually recurring operation conducted by the American–Canadian North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD).

The Danish contribution to the operation has included several F-35 fighter jets deployed from Keflavík, Iceland. From there, the fighters have flown air operations and surveillance around Iceland and over the southeastern part of Greenland.

At the same time, Denmark has provided a Challenger aircraft as a search and rescue capability from Kangerlussuaq, Greenland. From there, they ensured Search And Rescue capacity during the U.S. and Canadian air operations conducted from Pituffik Space Base in the northern part of Greenland.

International cooperation
The Danish F-35 fighter jets have been supported by a French MRTT aerial refuelling aircraft during the longer operations, and one of the Danish Challenger transport aircraft has also operated out of Iceland.

Operation Noble Defender is a recurring operation focused on demonstrating and maintaining NORAD’s ability to employ air forces under difficult climatic conditions such as those in the Arctic. NORAD is the U.S.–Canadian military partnership tasked with monitoring airspace and protecting the North American continent against attack.

The operation provides both Denmark and our international partners with unique experience in operating together and in demanding environments such as the Arctic.

Denmark has previously participated in the same operation with a search and rescue capability.

Read more about the operation here.