JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska -- Northern Edge 2025, a multi-domain, joint field-training exercise, concluded this week after showcasing the U.S. military’s expanded capabilities in the Arctic and north-western Pacific theater.
Led by U.S. Indo-Pacific Command and held throughout Alaska—including the Joint Pacific Alaska Range Complex and the Aleutians—the exercise involved more than 6,500 service members, approximately 125 aircraft, and seven U.S. and Canadian naval vessels.
Historically an exercise focused on high-end air combat training, Northern Edge in 2025 marked a strategic shift. The exercise emphasized Alaska not only as a training ground but as a defensive position and power projection hub.
“Northern Edge 25 takes Northern Edge to a new generation,” said U.S. Air Force Col. Craig Rumble, branch chief for Warfighting Exercises at U.S. Indo-Pacific Command. “It is now using Alaskan geography to defend the homeland, to sustain forces postured [here] and to project power into the northern Indo-Pacific to achieve theater objectives.”
Operations featured a mix of fourth- and fifth-generation aircraft, including F-35 variants; command and control, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (C-2 ISR) platforms; aerial refuelers; mobility transports; and maritime assets including the USS Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group in the Gulf of Alaska.
“I am incredibly proud of the Abraham Lincoln crew and their performance throughout Northern Edge,” said Capt. Daniel Keeler, commanding officer of Abraham Lincoln. “This has been a demanding but incredibly rewarding opportunity. Operating in Alaska alongside the joint force and our Canadian allies, we displayed not only our ship’s unique capabilities as the flagship of the world’s most powerful carrier strike group, but also the dedication, technical acumen, and strength of Lincoln Nation.”
Northern Edge ran concurrently with Arctic Edge 2025, conducted by U.S. Northern Command, enhancing coordination between the two commands.
“Cross-combatant command integration … is a new thing that we've never done before, and stressed managing the challenges of real-time coordination across exercises,” said Rumble.
U.S. Marines with Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 533, part of exercise Arctic Edge 25, supported multiple Northern Edge missions flying F-35B Lightning IIs. Their participation enhanced joint interoperability, increased combat readiness and exercised cross-combatant command asset synchronization - a key objective for Northern Edge 2025.
“The Marines’ Air-Ground Task Force concept makes their units scalable, flexible and adaptable,” said U.S. Marine Corps Lt. Col. Dan Brown, the U.S. Marine Forces Pacific deputy exercise cell lead. “That inherent ability enabled the Marines to seamlessly support Northern Edge.”
The exercise concluded on schedule, with leaders affirming that operational objectives were met and interoperability was enhanced. Northern Edge 2025 highlighted Alaska’s strategic role in homeland defense and reinforced its importance as a staging ground for projection of force into the Indo-Pacific.