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The North American Aerospace Defense Command and the Canadian NORAD Region (CANR), will conduct Operation Spring Forward, a major training operation, at various locations in Canada’s North during the first two weeks of April.
The operation will see the deployment of Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) personnel as well as CF-18 Hornet fighter aircraft, CC-130T Hercules, CC-150T Polaris air-to-air refueling aircraft and other support aircraft to Inuvik and Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, Iqaluit, Nunavut, and Goose Bay, Newfoundland and Labrador.
This operation is the culmination of a nearly six-month planning effort and is designed to exercise CANR’s ability to operate at forward operating locations across the North. The operation will consist of a series of training flights held in coordination with Nav Canada, the Canadian Air Defence Sector and the Alaskan NORAD Region.
The RCAF maintains a combination of forward operating locations across Canada so that assets can be strategically placed to accomplish the NORAD mission: to deter, detect, and defend against potential threats.
“Exercising our ability to operate at our forward operating locations across the North is crucial to ensuring we are ready to respond at a moment’s notice,” said Major-General Pierre St-Amand, commander of 1 Canadian Air Division and the Canadian NORAD Region in Winnipeg, Man.
Residents in those Northern communities may notice increased flight activity due to the deployment activities and flying operations.
