Canadian and U.S. military conduct first-ever joint platoon movement on arctic ice

On Mar. 15, 2023, during exercise Guerrier Nordique 23, a joint effort between the United States and Canada resulted in the first-ever platoon movement of its kind. Thirty-seven U.S. and Canadian soldiers were tactically inserted on Arctic Ocean ice east of Little Cornwallis Island in Nunavut, Canada, via an LC-130 Hercules.

U.S. Army and Canadian Soldiers practiced and conducted tactical insertion on an open ice skiway delivered by an LC-130 Hercules skiplane of the 109th Airlift Wing, New York Air National Guard, on frozen oceanic Arctic ice near Cornwallis Island, Nunavut, Canada, March 15, 2023.
U.S. and Canadian Soldiers and U.S. Airmen participated in Guerrier Nordique 23 in Resolute Bay, Nunavut, Canada from March 6 to March 20, 2023. U.S. Soldiers and Airmen consisted mainly of National Guard units from Connecticut, New Hampshire, Utah, New York, and Vermont. U.S. Army active duty Soldiers came from the 11th Airborne Division out of Fairbanks, Alaska. Canadian Soldiers came mainly from the 35th Canadian Brigade Group. Guerrier Nordique is an annual training exercise hosted by the Canadians in different locations each year. The training usually focuses on domestic emergencies and responses. For the first time this year, the focus of the exercise focused on military tactics and lethality.

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Royal Bahrain Air Force takes delivery of three Bell 505 helicopters

In February 2023, Bell Flight, delivered three Bell 505 helicopters to the Royal Bahrain Air Force at its Mirabel facility, marking the first time that the Kingdom of Bahrain has received this particular model. The country has previously operated Bell 212 and various generations of AH-1 attack helicopters. The delivery was carried out during an inspection and acceptance event.


Photo: Textron
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Five Chinese female pilots complete solo flights on J-11B

China has celebrated the successful completion of solo flights by its first group of female J-11B fighter jet trainees. The achievement marks their qualification as J-11B pilots. The five women, aged just 23 on average, underwent three years of rigorous training, including flying with five types of jet, to reach this point.


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Polish F-35As and Singapore F-16s to be based in Fort Smith

As we previously reported, the U.S. Air Force (USAF) selected Ebbing Air National Guard Base in Fort Smith as the preferred location for the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) program’s pilot training center. Now, it’s been announced that F-35 pilots from Poland are now expected to be the first foreign pilots to fly into Fort Smith.

A U.S. Air Force F-16 Fighting Falcon from the 425th Fighter Squadron (FS) out of Luke Air Force Base, Arizona, sits on the flight line June 1, 2018, on Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska. The 425th FS brought eight F-16s to participate in RED FLAG-Alaska 18-2. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Eric M. Fisher)

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