A U.S. Air Force F-15 from the California Air National

A U.S. Air Force F-15 from the California Air National Guard’s 144th Fighter Wing joins up behind a U.S. Air Force KC-10 Extender aircraft from the 305th Air Mobility Wing to refuel during North American Aerospace Defense Command’s Artic air defense exercise, Amalgam Dart 20-05, August 20, 2020. The exercise ran from August 17-21 and ranged from the Beaufort Sea to Thule, Greenland. Amalgam Dart 20-05 provided NORAD the opportunity to hone homeland defense skills as Canadian and U.S. forces operated together in the Artic. A bi-national Canadian and American command, NORAD employs a network of space-based, aerial and ground-based sensors, air-to-air refueling tankers, and fighter aircraft, controlled by a sophisticated command and control network to deter, detect and defend against aerial threats that originate outside or within North American airspace. Royal Canadian Air Force CF-18 fighter aircraft, CP-140 long-range patrol aircraft , and a CC-150T air refueler; as well as U.S. Air Force F-15 fighter aircraft, KC-10 refueler, and C-17 transport aircraft all participated in the exercise. (U.S. Air Force photo by Capt. Rachel Van Breeman)