# NORAD
Latest news and articles about NORAD
Total: 6 articles found
F-16s Scrambled Over Northern California as NORAD Tracks Two High-Altitude Balloons — No Threat Found
NORAD tracked two high-altitude objects over northern California on February 15 and dispatched two F-16s to intercept them. The objects were assessed to be meteorological balloons and posed no threat to military or civil aviation.
U.S. Fighters Scramble Over California for Unknown Objects Later Identified as Weather Balloons
U.S. F-16s scrambled twice on 15 February to investigate high-altitude objects over northern California and Nevada; NORAD later determined the contacts were meteorological balloons and not a threat. The response underscores persistent post-2023 sensitivity to unidentified aerial objects and the operational burden of distinguishing benign payloads from hostile surveillance.
U.S. Ambassador Threatens Ottawa: Spurn F‑35s and U.S. Fighters Will Patrol Canadian Skies More Often
U.S. Ambassador Pete Hoekstra warned that Canada’s decision not to buy 88 F‑35 fighters would force changes to North American defence arrangements and lead to more frequent U.S. fighter operations in Canadian airspace. The remarks intensify a fraught Canadian procurement debate over interoperability, cost and sovereignty, and highlight the diplomatic leverage Washington can exert over allied defence choices.
NATO Plans Arctic Exercises in Coming Months, Says Greenland Will Be Excluded
NATO says it will hold several military exercises in the Arctic in the coming months but that these operations will not include Greenland. Political consultations between Greenland, Denmark and the United States are underway under a cooperative framework, while NATO continues to await formal directives on Arctic tasking.
Canada Conducts First-Ever Military Model of a U.S. Incursion, Signalling Arctic and Alliance Uncertainty
Canada’s military has for the first time modelled a hypothetical U.S. incursion — explicitly as a theoretical exercise rather than an operational plan — while considering sending troops to a Denmark-led exercise in Greenland. The twin moves reflect growing anxiety about Arctic competition and the unpredictability of allied behaviour, and they underscore Ottawa’s shift toward broader contingency planning.
NORAD Sends Aircraft to Pituffik — A Signal of Bolstered Arctic Defence Cooperation
NORAD has announced that multiple aircraft will deploy to the Pituffik (Thule) Space Base in Greenland to support planned missions, coordinated with Denmark and notified to Greenland’s government. The move underlines routine operational cooperation among the United States, Canada and Denmark while signalling allied attention to the strategically important Arctic region.