As the Arctic emerges as a focal point of global strategic interest, the United States and Canada have intensified their military collaboration in the region throughout 2025. Through a series of joint exercises and strategic initiatives, both nations aim to bolster their defense capabilities, affirm sovereignty, and counter growing activities from rival powers such as Russia and China.
Operation NANOOK-NUNALIVUT 2025: Asserting Sovereignty in the High North
The Arctic, once considered a remote and largely inert region, is rapidly becoming a strategic epicenter in global geopolitics. As climate change opens up previously inaccessible sea routes and unveils untapped natural resources, the region has drawn increasing interest from world powers — not just in terms of economic opportunity, but also military presence.
In early 2025, Canada and the United States — two nations whose geography, values, and security are deeply intertwined — staged an unprecedented series of joint Arctic military exercises. These maneuvers were not just displays of muscle; they were deeply symbolic, technologically complex, and logistically sophisticated. Most importantly, they marked a new chapter in North American security — one shaped by the dual imperatives of climate adaptation and great power rivalry.
Setting the Stage: Operation NANOOK and the 2025 Arctic Deployment
Canada’s Operation NANOOK has long been a centerpiece of its Arctic defense strategy, first launched in 2007. But in 2025, the exercise expanded in size and scope, reflecting the elevated stakes in the region. From February through early March, hundreds of Canadian and American troops trained together in the high Arctic, facing not just simulated enemy threats but also some of the harshest natural conditions on Earth.
This year’s iteration — NANOOK-NUNALIVUT — focused on high-readiness cold-weather operations, emphasizing rapid mobility, joint command structures, and multi-domain warfare. The U.S. deployed elements from the 11th Airborne Division and the 10th Mountain Division, both known for their Arctic warfare specialization. These units trained alongside Canadian Army regulars, special forces, and the indispensable Canadian Rangers — Indigenous-led units with unrivaled knowledge of the North.
Despite the freezing temperatures, malfunctioning equipment, and logistical delays brought on by volatile weather, the exercise was hailed as a success. It marked the clearest statement yet that North America is committed to defending its northern flank — with boots on the ground, eyes in the sky, and a growing network of sensors, drones, and satellites to match.
Rising Stakes: Why 2025 is Different
What made this year’s exercises more significant than in years past?
First, the geopolitical climate has changed. Russia’s continued militarization of its own Arctic zone — including the reopening of Cold War-era bases, frequent air patrols, and deployment of long-range missile systems — has alarmed NATO. At the same time, China has increasingly described itself as a “near-Arctic state,” investing in research stations, commercial shipping ventures, and dual-use vessels that can collect intelligence under the guise of scientific missions.
Second, Arctic ice is receding faster than expected. This year saw yet another record-low in winter sea ice extent, opening up the fabled Northwest Passage for longer periods and making northern approaches to North America more vulnerable to surveillance and incursion.
Third, NORAD modernization — a long-delayed process of upgrading North America’s aerospace defense — is finally underway. Both nations are now investing billions into new radar systems, drone patrols, and early-warning networks that stretch deep into the Arctic Archipelago. These exercises are no longer theoretical. They are rehearsals for a potential future where deterrence in the Arctic could mean the difference between peace and conflict.
The Role of Indigenous Knowledge and Sovereignty
No Arctic operation can succeed without the people who have called the region home for millennia. Indigenous communities, particularly the Inuit, continue to play a vital role in military planning and survival training. The Canadian Rangers, composed largely of Indigenous volunteers, are both cultural ambassadors and critical guides.
Their contribution goes far beyond navigation. In recent years, they have helped the Canadian Armed Forces train new recruits on traditional hunting, emergency shelter building, and adapting to the Arctic’s spiritual and physical realities. This collaboration is also political: it reaffirms Canada’s commitment to Indigenous sovereignty and environmental stewardship, even as it strengthens national defense.
Military leaders have acknowledged that any viable long-term Arctic strategy must include partnerships with local communities — not only for practical survival, but for moral legitimacy.
A Transatlantic Link: Arctic Forge 25
While much attention has focused on North American activities, the Arctic is increasingly a site of multilateral cooperation — particularly among NATO allies.
In February 2025, the Canadian Army deployed a contingent to northern Finland to take part in Exercise Arctic Forge 25. The goal was twofold: to enhance cold-weather interoperability with European allies, and to demonstrate NATO’s ability to operate effectively in the northernmost reaches of its territory.
This transatlantic maneuver was symbolically potent. Canadian soldiers were airlifted across the North Pole — a route previously unthinkable for routine deployment — and conducted joint maneuvers with U.S. and Finnish forces. The operation mirrored the Canada-U.S. exercises back home and reinforced a broader message: NATO can project power in the Arctic from both sides of the Atlantic.
As Finland and Sweden solidify their NATO integration following their accession in 2023 and 2024, this exercise also marked a milestone in connecting North America’s Arctic defense efforts with those of Europe.
Environmental Reality Check: The Cost of Climate Change
While military planners prepare for rival states, the most immediate challenge in the Arctic remains the environment itself.
The 2025 exercises were hindered by rapidly shifting weather patterns. What was once predictably cold has become erratic. Unseasonably warm days melted vital runways on frozen lakes, grounding aircraft. Conversely, sudden cold snaps disabled diesel engines and rendered digital equipment inoperable.
These are not minor issues — they are existential for military effectiveness. Canada and the U.S. are now racing to develop Arctic-specific technologies that can operate reliably in these extremes. Battery efficiency, fuel logistics, clothing insulation, and remote communications are all undergoing redesign as part of a new era of climate-resilient defense.
In this way, the Arctic represents not just a battlefield of nations, but a testing ground for human adaptation. Any military that hopes to operate here must learn to outlast not just enemies — but nature itself.
Political Tensions and Defense Autonomy
Despite the strong cooperation on the ground, political tensions between Ottawa and Washington have flared.
One flashpoint in 2025 came from a controversial offer made by the U.S. administration: to extend its new “Golden Dome” missile defense shield to Canada — on the condition that Canada cede some degree of strategic autonomy. The suggestion, viewed by many Canadians as an affront to sovereignty, sparked a wave of diplomatic backlash and public outcry.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney rejected the proposal unequivocally, stating that while continental defense requires cooperation, it cannot come at the cost of national control. The incident underscored the fine balance Canada must strike — partnering closely with its southern neighbor while maintaining a distinct voice on security policy.
In the wake of this diplomatic flare-up, Canada doubled down on its independent investments in Arctic surveillance, troop mobility, and satellite coverage. At the same time, bilateral military ties remained robust, underscoring the complexity of modern alliance politics.
Ultimately,
The U.S.-Canada military exercises in 2025 are not fleeting demonstrations of alliance solidarity but foundational elements of a comprehensive and long-term transformation of North American defense posture. These joint operations reflect an urgent and evolving strategic doctrine: the Arctic is no longer an inert boundary of ice and silence, but a dynamic and increasingly contested arena, one that demands sustained presence, adaptive capabilities, and decisive investment. At the heart of this shift lies a multilayered approach that blends cutting-edge technology, infrastructure development, and joint command architecture — all geared toward transforming the far North into a forward-operating front line rather than a remote buffer.
A centerpiece of this strategy is the deployment of Over-the-Horizon Radar (OTHR) systems across Canada’s northern expanse. Unlike conventional radar, which is limited by the curvature of the Earth, these long-range platforms can detect aircraft and missile threats thousands of kilometers away, far beyond the visual horizon. In a theater where distances are vast and early warning is paramount, OTHR offers the ability to monitor potential incursions long before they breach sovereign airspace — a capability that could prove decisive in a high-stakes confrontation with technologically sophisticated adversaries. The construction of these radar networks is not only a technical feat but also a geopolitical signal that North America intends to see — and act — far in advance of any threat approaching through the polar route.
Parallel to this technological evolution is a growing network of permanent forward-operating bases. Long reliant on seasonal camps and ad hoc deployments, both nations have begun converting temporary outposts into year-round military hubs capable of housing personnel, aircraft, and equipment through the darkest and coldest months. These installations are being equipped with hardened airstrips, modular housing, fuel depots, and climate-resilient infrastructure to support sustained operations. This is a deliberate shift away from symbolic flag-planting and toward tangible territorial control — a strategy that mirrors the buildup seen across Russia’s northern coast and reinforces sovereign presence over vast, sparsely populated regions that are increasingly accessible due to melting ice.
Unmanned systems are also taking center stage in this Arctic transformation. The integration of drones, autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs), and satellite-linked maritime patrol platforms is enabling continuous monitoring of air, sea, and ice conditions across immense distances. These systems can identify potential threats, illegal incursions, or environmental hazards in real time without the logistical and human risks associated with manned patrols. Crucially, they also provide data continuity in conditions that are too dangerous for conventional operations — offering persistent awareness in a region where weather can ground helicopters and ground-based systems can fail due to extreme cold.
Perhaps most significantly, early-stage discussions are underway to establish a formal joint U.S.-Canada Arctic Command. This would be more than a symbolic gesture; it would institutionalize a shared command structure capable of unified decision-making, coordinated emergency response, and rapid deployment in the event of an incursion or natural disaster. Such a command would integrate existing NORAD frameworks with land and maritime assets, effectively creating a North American Arctic theater with the agility to match evolving threats. This move reflects not only operational necessity but also a recognition that Arctic defense cannot be siloed within national jurisdictions — it must be inherently collaborative, especially in an age when both kinetic and hybrid threats can cross borders in minutes.
These interlocking initiatives represent a fundamental change in how the Arctic is conceived within national security paradigms. No longer relegated to the periphery of strategic planning, the region is now viewed as integral to continental defense, on par with the Atlantic and Pacific seaboards, as well as the increasingly contested domain of cyberspace. It is a space where the conventional and the unconventional converge — where missiles might fly over the pole, where climate change reveals both opportunities and vulnerabilities, and where Indigenous knowledge is as vital as AI-driven surveillance.
By 2025, the Arctic’s silence has been permanently interrupted. Though its winds still howl over the tundra and the sea ice continues to groan under the pressure of climate and time, these natural sounds now compete with the rhythmic pulse of rotary blades, the distant buzz of drones, and the encrypted chatter of tactical command. The coordinated rhythm of multinational drills now punctuates a landscape that once lay dormant but now teems with strategic urgency. For both Canada and the United States, these operations are more than routine. They are a deliberate, future-focused response to a rapidly shifting global environment in which the Arctic has become not only a new front but a proving ground for resilience, innovation, and sovereignty.
This future will not be determined by firepower alone. The forces that dominate the Arctic must also endure its extreme conditions, adapt to its fragile ecosystems, and collaborate with its Indigenous stewards. Through rigorous joint training, the integration of traditional knowledge, climate-conscious logistics, and advanced multilateral defense networks, both nations are demonstrating their commitment not merely to defend the North — but to define it. In a region where ice shifts slowly but consequences endure, every decision made today will echo for generations. The Arctic, once frozen in geopolitical ambiguity, is now a frontier of clarity, urgency, and resolve.
