The Independent View: Arctic Edge Brings Patriot And Avenger Systems To AK For First Time

Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska, the Army brought its Patriot Surface-to-Air Missile System and Short-Range Avenger Air Defense system, to Alaska for the First time, to take part in the State’s largest Joint Force exercise, Arctic Edge, which wrapped up March 16th.

The U.S. Northern Command exercise, and the inclusion of the Patriot and Avenger systems, were in the works long before Russia launched its War in Ukraine, and caused tensions to skyrocket around the Globe. But having the ground-based Air Defense systems in Alaska, sends a clear Message to Adversaries who might consider striking the Homeland.

“Having air defense forces in Alaska in cold weather times proves that we can do it,” said Army Maj. Gen. Frank M. Rice, Commander of the South Carolina National Guard’s 263rd Army Air and Missile Defense Command. “It sends a message to not only our adversaries but to our allies that we are willing and capable of defending the homeland,” Rice said during a recent visit to the base.

Officially known as the Phased Array Tracking to Intercept of Target, the Patriot has been heavily used in the U.S. Central Command area of Operations. Arctic Edge was the First time the system had been Tested in Extreme Cold. The Florida National Guard’s Avenger Air Defense system also figured in the Exercise, tasked with Defending a Drop Zone from Cruise Missiles roughly a 40-minute drive away from where the Patriots, in a remote area are based.

Some of the Soldiers participating had never seen Snow before, let alone minus 30-degree temperatures, yet they took turns manning the Equipment 24 hours a day. “Being that this is such a different environment, such a rigid environment, the equipment has issues,” Rice said. “We’re looking at training issues—things that we have to do differently here than we would at home.”

Capt. Eric Grant, the Logistics Officer with the 1st Battalion, 265th Air Defense Artillery Regiment, said that prior to the Exercise, the Florida Guard spent months Winterizing the Equipment it would bring to Alaska, to include pre-installed Heaters and Battery Maintainers. “So, it’s not stock. It’s not typical. It was one of the largest Arctic, I guess, installs in the state of Florida to date, and all of this Arctic equipment will stay on the vehicles in case we do have to come back for another exercise.”

The Objective during Arctic Edge was to work on Tactics, Techniques, and Procedures, for Operating in such Cold, Harsh conditions, but Officials did Not rule out a Live-Fire Exercise in the future. “I don’t think that we’re limited in the scope of some of the things that we want to do in working together,” Lt. Gen. David A. Krumm, Commander of the Alaskan Region of the North American Aerospace Defense Command said. “I would just say that we want to make this larger. We want to make it more integrated.”

Krumm said the U.S. knows how to do Missile Defense, Air Defense, and Ground Defense, but that it is still working through exactly how to do all of those things in the Arctic Region. “We have a very robust air defense with NORAD being here for so many decades,” he said. “This was just a very unique opportunity for us to integrate the maritime and land-based assets as well.”

That Integration is key to Defending the Homeland, he emphasized. “We are very fortunate this year, for the first time ever, to be able to get some of the air defense artillery assets up here to work together with our air operations center, with our fighter aircraft airborne,” he said. “We were able to operate and organize a common operating picture that allowed us to seamlessly work together to integrate ground-based air defenses, or GBAD, along with our air defenses, and for our pilots and our operators to train and work together in a different environment.”

Arctic Edge included some 1,000 U.S. and Canadian Military Personnel from more than 35 units.

It’s linked to several other Service-Specific Exercises that took place concurrently between February and March, including the National Guard’s Arctic Eagle, the U.S. Army’s Joint Pacific Multinational Readiness Capability (JPMRC) exercise, and the U.S. Navy’s ICE-X.