Northern Edge 2025, a large-scale, multi-domain joint field-training exercise, wrapped up this week after demonstrating the military’s expanded capabilities in Alaska and the northwestern Pacific theater.
Led by US Indo-Pacific Command and conducted across multiple Alaskan locations, including the Joint Pacific Alaska Range Complex and the Aleutian Islands, the exercise involved more than 6,500 service members, roughly 125 aircraft, and seven US and Canadian naval vessels.
Historically focused on high-end air combat training, this year’s iteration emphasized Alaska not just as a training ground but as a defensive position and a hub for power projection into the northern Indo-Pacific region.
Operations featured a combination of fourth- and fifth-generation aircraft, including F-35A Lightning II variants, along with command and control, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance platforms, aerial refuelers, mobility transports, and maritime assets. The USS Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group participated in the exercise in the Gulf of Alaska.
Northern Edge 2025 ran concurrently with Arctic Edge 2025, conducted by U.S. Northern Command, providing an opportunity to strengthen coordination across combatant commands. Marines flying F-35B Lightning IIs from Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 533 supported multiple Northern Edge missions, demonstrating cross-service integration and operational flexibility.
The exercise concluded on schedule, with leaders confirming that the mission objectives were met.
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