U.S. F-16s Resume Combat Air Patrols from Eareckson Air Station, Over 1,500 km from Mainland Alaska

U.S. Air Force F-16 fighter jets carried out a North American defense mission from Eareckson Air Station, located on Shemya Island in the Bering Sea, more than 1,500 km from mainland Alaska.

The North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) said this in a statement.

The aircraft conducted air defense operations from the remote airbase during a deployment from October 18 to 26. On October 25, the fighter jets launched on a North American defense mission, which also involved aircraft from two other bases in Alaska and one Canadian airbase.

After deploying to Eareckson Air Station, the F-16s began carrying out missions as part of Operation NOBLEDEFENDER. The mission was subsequently continued under Operation NOBLE EAGLE, supporting efforts to protect sovereignty in the northern region.

The mission evolved into a coordinated U.S.-Canadian operation involving two F-16 Fighting Falcon fighter jets, F-35 Lightning II aircraft from Eielson Air Force Base, an E-3 Sentry airborne early warning and control aircraft from Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, and Royal Canadian Air Force CF-18 Hornet fighter jets from Cold Lake Air Base in Alberta.

Several KC-135 Stratotanker aircraft and one CC-150 Polaris provided aerial refueling, while an HC-130 Combat King II provided search-and-rescue support and personnel recovery.

Eareckson Air Station is located about 2,600 km from Eielson Air Force Base and 4,200 km from Cold Lake Air Base, highlighting the vast distances over which NORAD coordinated the participating forces.

F-16s deployed to Eareckson Air Station provided coverage over the southern part of the zone, while F-35s and additional F-16s from Eielson operated in the northwest, and Canadian CF-18s covered the northern approaches.

“The joint operation demonstrated NORAD’s ability to rapidly assemble, deploy, and coordinate a combat-ready air force to defend North America,” the command stated.

According to TWZ, regular fighter patrols at Eareckson Air Station ceased in the early 1990s. As a result, the October 2026 deployment marked a significant milestone, representing a return to combat air patrol operations at one of the westernmost U.S. military installations.

The island is also home to the AN/FPS-108 Cobra Dane radar station, located directly opposite Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula and the Kura missile test range.

The powerful phased-array radar plays a critical role in detecting ballistic missiles and tracking their trajectories.