{"id":23872648,"date":"2026-09-21T15:07:32","date_gmt":"2026-09-21T13:07:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/operation-tundra-merlin-bering-sea-f-35-e-3-canada-2026\/"},"modified":"2026-09-21T15:08:05","modified_gmt":"2026-09-21T13:08:05","slug":"operation-tundra-merlin-bering-sea-f-35-e-3-canada-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/operation-tundra-merlin-bering-sea-f-35-e-3-canada-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"Operation Tundra Merlin: An Arctic Kill Chain Off Dutch Harbor"},"content":{"rendered":"<style>.et_pb_title_container h1.entry-title { padding-top: 40px !important; }<\/style>\r\n<p>A hundred nautical miles north of Dutch Harbor is not anywhere. It is grey water, weather that arrives sideways, and the shortest line between the Aleutians and the Russian Far East. This week it has an American and Canadian task force in it, and Alaska-based fighters overhead.<\/p>\r\n<p>The operation is called TUNDRA MERLIN, and from 18 to 22 September it has been running the Arctic equivalent of a fire drill: find a ship, track it, pass the targeting data, simulate killing it. Do that faster than the last time.<\/p>\r\n<p>US Coast Guard cutters and Royal Canadian Navy surface and subsurface units are doing the sea half. Royal Canadian Air Force maritime patrol aircraft, US Air Force E-3 Sentries and Alaska-based <a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/aircraft\/f-35-lightning-ii\/\">F-35s<\/a> are doing the air half. USNORTHCOM and Alaskan Command are holding the whole thing together.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<div style=\"background:#f5f5f5;border-left:4px solid #1a1a1a;padding:15px 20px;margin:20px 0\"><p style=\"margin:0 0 8px;font-weight:700\">Quick Facts<\/p><ul style=\"margin:0;padding-left:20px\"><li><strong>Operation:<\/strong> TUNDRA MERLIN, commanded by US Northern Command and Alaskan Command<\/li><li><strong>This phase:<\/strong> 18&ndash;22 September 2026, Bering Sea, roughly 100 nautical miles north of Dutch Harbor<\/li><li><strong>Air:<\/strong> Alaska-based USAF F-35s and E-3 Sentry AWACS, plus RCAF maritime patrol and reconnaissance aircraft<\/li><li><strong>Sea:<\/strong> US Coast Guard and Royal Canadian Navy surface and subsurface vessels<\/li><li><strong>What they practised:<\/strong> multiple simulated maritime target engagements, validating how targeting information flows between services and nations<\/li><li><strong>Not a one-off:<\/strong> TUNDRA MERLIN has run across Alaska since the summer, including a HIMARS deployment to Nome and an 800-mile combined Bering Sea and Bering Strait patrol<\/li><\/ul><\/div>\r\n\r\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">The Point Is the Plumbing, Not the Missile<\/h2>\r\n<p>&ldquo;Simulated maritime target engagements&rdquo; is unglamorous phrasing for something genuinely difficult. A Canadian patrol aircraft finds a contact. That contact has to become a track, the track has to reach whoever can shoot at it, and the shooter has to trust the data enough to act on it &mdash; across two air forces, a navy, a coast guard and a combatant command, over a stretch of ocean with no permanent radar coverage and famously hostile weather.<\/p>\r\n<p>USNORTHCOM&rsquo;s own framing is that the exercise is about &ldquo;validating targeting information flow and exercising engagement processes.&rdquo; That is the kill chain, and the chain is where these things break. Aircraft are easy to buy by comparison.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<div style=\"max-width:550px;margin:0 auto 28px\"><iframe class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/embed\/Tweet.html?id=2083650863772676545&theme=light\" style=\"width:100%;height:400px;border:none;overflow:hidden\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\r\n\r\n<p>The man running it is Lieutenant General Robert Davis, who wears three hats at once: commander of Alaskan Command, of the Alaskan NORAD Region, and of Eleventh Air Force.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<div style=\"background:#f8f9fa;border-left:4px solid #1565c0;padding:20px 22px;margin:18px 0 24px;font-size:16px;line-height:1.7;display:flex;gap:20px;align-items:flex-start\"><div><em>&ldquo;Our ability to detect activity, make timely decisions, and position forces where they are needed gives a potential adversary reason to reconsider aggression.&rdquo;<\/em><div style=\"margin-top:10px;font-size:14px;color:#555\"><strong>Lt. Gen. Robert Davis<\/strong> &mdash; Commander, Alaskan Command and Alaskan NORAD Region<\/div><\/div><\/div>\r\n\r\n<p>He also made the point that matters most for an operation with this many flags in it: every TUNDRA MERLIN event, he said, &ldquo;strengthens command and control, and improves our ability to operate seamlessly across services and nations.&rdquo; Seamless is doing a lot of work in that sentence, and it is the thing being rehearsed.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\" style=\"margin:0 0 24px;width:100%\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" width=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/09\/e-3-sentry-awacs-elmendorf-alaska-dawn.jpg\" alt=\"A US Air Force E-3 Sentry AWACS on the ground at Elmendorf, Alaska, at dawn\" style=\"width:100%;height:auto;max-width:100%;display:block\"><figcaption style=\"font-size:13px;color:#777;text-align:center;margin-top:6px;font-style:italic\">An E-3 Sentry at Elmendorf. In the Bering Sea there is no permanent radar coverage, so the radar has to fly there. US Air Force photo<\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n\r\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">Why 100 Miles North of Dutch Harbor<\/h2>\r\n<p>Geography. Dutch Harbor sits on Unalaska in the Aleutian chain, and the water north of it is the entrance to the Bering Sea &mdash; the funnel between the Pacific and the Arctic, and the approach to the Bering Strait. Anything transiting between the Russian Pacific coast and the Arctic Ocean goes through there or around a very long way.<\/p>\r\n<p>It is also close. The Russian mainland lies several hundred miles to the west, and Russian and Chinese naval formations have operated in the North Pacific and near the Aleutians in recent years. Practising a maritime strike chain in exactly that water is not subtle, and is not meant to be.<\/p>\r\n<p>What makes it work is that the United States keeps fifth-generation fighters at Eielson, within reach of all of it. An F-35 from interior Alaska over the Bering Sea, cued by an E-3 and fed by a Canadian patrol aircraft, is a very different proposition from surging assets north after something has already happened.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<div style=\"max-width:550px;margin:0 auto 28px\"><iframe class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/embed\/Tweet.html?id=2087589388100489664&theme=light\" style=\"width:100%;height:400px;border:none;overflow:hidden\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\r\n\r\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">Canada Is Not a Guest Here<\/h2>\r\n<p>It is easy to read exercises like this as American with allied decoration. TUNDRA MERLIN is not that. NORAD is a binational command, the only one of its kind, and Canada is inside the decision loop rather than alongside it.<\/p>\r\n<p>The RCAF is contributing maritime patrol and reconnaissance aircraft &mdash; the CP-140 Aurora fleet, Canada&rsquo;s long-serving development of the Lockheed <a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/aircraft\/lockheed-p-3-orion\/\">P-3 Orion<\/a> &mdash; and the Royal Canadian Navy has both surface ships and submarines in the water. Earlier in the operation an RCAF airlifter moved US Army rocket artillery into Nome.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\" style=\"margin:0 0 24px;width:100%\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" width=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/09\/rcaf-cp-140-aurora-maritime-patrol-aircraft.jpg\" alt=\"A Royal Canadian Air Force Lockheed CP-140 Aurora maritime patrol aircraft on a ramp\" style=\"width:100%;height:auto;max-width:100%;display:block\"><figcaption style=\"font-size:13px;color:#777;text-align:center;margin-top:6px;font-style:italic\">The RCAF&rsquo;s CP-140 Aurora, Canada&rsquo;s maritime patrol development of the P-3 Orion. Photo: Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0<\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n\r\n<p>That is the part worth watching. An Arctic kill chain that only works when one nation runs it is not much use, because the Arctic approaches to North America are not divided neatly by border. TUNDRA MERLIN is an argument that the chain works when both of them are holding it.<\/p>\r\n<p>The operation runs through 22 September. Nobody expects it to produce a headline. That is rather the point &mdash; the deterrent value is in a potential adversary reading the press release and doing the arithmetic on how quickly something in the Bering Sea can now be found, tracked and engaged.<\/p>\r\n<p><em>Sources: US Northern Command, Alaskan Command Public Affairs, GlobalSecurity.org, DVIDS.<\/em><\/p>\r\n\r\n<style>.mfq{margin:34px 0 8px}.mfq h2{font:26px\/1.3 \"Gilroy semiBold\",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;color:#0d1117;padding-top:22px;margin:0 0 6px}.mfq .qa details{border-top:1px solid #5C91FF;margin:0;padding:0}.mfq .qa details:last-of-type{border-bottom:1px solid #e2e7ee}.mfq .qa summary{cursor:pointer;list-style:none;display:flex;justify-content:space-between;align-items:center;gap:16px;padding:22px 26px;font:18px\/1.7 \"Gilroy semiBold\",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;color:#0d1117}.mfq .qa summary::-webkit-details-marker{display:none}.mfq .qa summary::after{content:\"+\";font:24px Helvetica,sans-serif;color:#3568e0;flex:0 0 auto}.mfq .qa details[open] summary::after{content:\"\\2013\"}.mfq .qa details:hover summary{color:#3568e0}.mfq .qa .a{font:16px\/1.7 \"Gilroy regular\",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;color:#454e5e;padding:0 26px 24px}.mfq .qa .a a{color:#3568e0}@media(max-width:680px){.mfq .qa summary{padding:18px 14px;font-size:17px}.mfq .qa .a{padding:0 14px 20px}}<\/style>\r\n\r\n\r\n<section class=\"mfq\"><h2>Frequently Asked Questions<\/h2><div class=\"qa\"><details open><summary>What is Operation TUNDRA MERLIN?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">TUNDRA MERLIN is a US Northern Command and Alaskan Command operation integrating NORAD and USNORTHCOM forces with allies in the Alaskan Theater of Operations. It has run across Alaska through summer and autumn 2026, and its September phase rehearsed joint maritime strike in the Bering Sea.<\/div><\/details><details><summary>Where did the September 2026 TUNDRA MERLIN exercise take place?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">In the Bering Sea, approximately 100 nautical miles north of Dutch Harbor in the Aleutian Islands, from 18 to 22 September 2026. That stretch of water is the approach between the Pacific and the Bering Strait, and it sits within a few hundred miles of the Russian Far East.<\/div><\/details><details><summary>Which aircraft took part in Operation TUNDRA MERLIN?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">Alaska-based United States Air Force F-35 fighters and E-3 Sentry Airborne Warning and Control System aircraft, together with Royal Canadian Air Force maritime patrol and reconnaissance aircraft. Earlier phases of the operation also involved F-16s, a KC-135 tanker and Canadian strategic airlift.<\/div><\/details><details><summary>What is an Arctic kill chain?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">The sequence that turns a detection into an engagement: finding a contact, holding it as a track, passing targeting information to a shooter, and completing the engagement. TUNDRA MERLIN rehearses that sequence across two nations and four services, which is harder than it sounds in an area with no permanent radar coverage.<\/div><\/details><details><summary>Was Canada a full participant or an observer?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">A full participant. NORAD is a binational US-Canadian command, and the Royal Canadian Navy contributed surface and subsurface vessels while the RCAF flew maritime patrol and reconnaissance aircraft. Canadian airlift also moved US Army rocket artillery to Nome earlier in the operation.<\/div><\/details><details><summary>Why does the US keep F-35s in Alaska?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">Eielson Air Force Base puts fifth-generation fighters within reach of the Bering Sea, the Arctic approaches and the North Pacific without having to surge aircraft north after an event. Combined with airborne early warning, it turns a remote theatre into one that can be covered on short notice.<\/div><\/details><details><summary>Is TUNDRA MERLIN aimed at Russia?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">USNORTHCOM describes the operation as deterring potential threats to the homelands in the Alaskan Theater of Operations and does not name an adversary. The geography speaks for itself: the exercise area lies on the maritime approaches between the Russian Far East and the Arctic Ocean.<\/div><\/details><\/div><\/section>\r\n\r\n\r\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@type\":\"FAQPage\",\"mainEntity\":[{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"What is Operation TUNDRA MERLIN?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"TUNDRA MERLIN is a US Northern Command and Alaskan Command operation integrating NORAD and USNORTHCOM forces with allies in the Alaskan Theater of Operations. It has run across Alaska through summer and autumn 2026, and its September phase rehearsed joint maritime strike in the Bering Sea.\"}},{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"Where did the September 2026 TUNDRA MERLIN exercise take place?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"In the Bering Sea, approximately 100 nautical miles north of Dutch Harbor in the Aleutian Islands, from 18 to 22 September 2026. 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The geography speaks for itself: the exercise area lies on the maritime approaches between the Russian Far East and the Arctic Ocean.\"}}]}<\/script><div style=\"background:#f0f4ff;border-left:4px solid #5C91FF;padding:16px 20px;margin:32px 0 8px\"><p style=\"margin:0 0 8px;font-weight:600;color:#333\">Related Posts<\/p><p style=\"margin:4px 0\"><a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/operation-arctic-vanguard-f-35a-pituffik-greenland-2026\/\">Operation Arctic Vanguard: F-35s Fly From Pituffik, Greenland<\/a><\/p><p style=\"margin:4px 0\"><a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/finland-first-f-35a-arrival-rovaniemi-lapland-air-wing-2026\/\">Finland&rsquo;s First F-35s Land at Rovaniemi, Inside the Arctic Circle<\/a><\/p><p style=\"margin:4px 0\"><a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/red-flag-alaska-26-3-us-australia-2026\/\">US and Australia Wage War Over Alaska<\/a><\/p><\/div>\r\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A hundred nautical miles north of Dutch Harbor is not anywhere. It is grey water, weather that arrives sideways, and the shortest line between the Aleutians and the Russian Far East. This week it has an American and Canadian task force in it, and Alaska-based fighters overhead. The operation is called TUNDRA MERLIN, and from [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":26,"featured_media":23872240,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"editor_notices":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[664,670],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-23872648","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-military-aviation","category-news"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Operation Tundra Merlin: Arctic Kill Chain Tested | MiGFlug<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Operation Tundra Merlin put Alaska-based F-35s, E-3 Sentries and Canadian warships over the Bering Sea to rehearse a faster Arctic kill chain.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" 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