US Northern Command and NORAD conducting Vigilant Shield defense exercise

Americas, News, US April 14, 2023 , by IRIA No Comments

U.S. Northern Command and the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) are conducting the annual homeland defense exercise Vigilant Shield 23 from April 11 to 19, 2023.

Exercise Vigilant Shield is a bi-national exercise between the United States and Canada with the aim to assess and enhance the readiness of NORAD and USNORTHCOM, its components, and mission partners to defend North America from attack.

During the exercise, military personnel from the United States and Canada will participate, including the commands’ Headquarters, the Alaskan, Canadian, and Continental U.S. NORAD Regions, USNORTHCOM components (U.S. Army North, U.S. Air Force North, U.S. Navy North, U.S. Marine Forces North, and Special Operations Command North), and other subordinate units and mission partners.

The Vigilant Shield 23 exercise provides NORAD and USNORTHCOM opportunities to examine and refine strategies, evaluate processes and procedures, and demonstrate the ability to address threats in various environments and domains.

According to the NORAD statement, “It is primarily a Command Post Exercise using simulated forces and involves the commander, the staff, and communications within and between headquarters”.

Although the overall scenario of the exercise is classified, the main purpose of the drill is to “assess and enhance NORAD and USNORTHCOM’s ability to defend North America across all domains, which include air, land, maritime, space, and cyber,” the statement added.

^{A Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) CP-140 long-range patrol aircraft flies in formation with two U.S. Air Force F-16s and a RCAF CF-18 during North American Aerospace Defense Command’s Arctic air defense exercise, Amalgam Dart 21-02, March 22 and 23, 2021. (Image Credit: RCAF/U.S. NORTHCOM)}

The United States Northern Command conducts homeland defense, civil support, and security cooperation to defend and secure the U.S. and its interests. While NORAD is a command formed by a partnership between the United States and Canada. NORAD provides aerospace warning, aerospace control, and maritime warning for North America. The two commands have complementary missions and are co-located together in Peterson SFB, Colorado.

Earlier in February, NORAD conducted air defense exercises, soon after intercepting unidentified flying objects in the U.S. and Canadian airspace. The exercise used a variety of scenarios, including airspace restriction violations, hijackings, and responding to unknown aircraft.

The NORAD Command is also pacing efforts to enhance capabilities to identify and intercept “potential air threats to North America in the execution of its aerospace warning and aerospace control missions,” the statement added.