Russia and China co-operating more often and more closely in the Arctic, says NORAD commander

There's been a subtle but significant shift in what NORAD has been seeing over the last year when it comes to mostly Russian — but also Chinese — activity in the Arctic, says the top commander of the North American Aerospace Defence Command (NORAD).

U.S. Gen. Gregory Guillot tells CBC News that air and sea incursions into the zones just outside North America have not only become more frequent, but also more co-ordinated.

"I'd say the most consequential difference in 2025 has been the volume, the simultaneous volume," Guillot said in an exclusive interview.

"Sometimes we'll have — instead of a ship — there might be four or five ships at the same time operating in various parts of the Arctic Ocean down into the Bering area," Guillot said.

And then a few hours later, he said, there will be an air incursion in a different part of the region.

That kind of activity, defence analysts say, is intended to test the reaction of the U.S. and Canadian militaries.

As of late December 2025, NORAD had publicly acknowledged at least eight separate events in 2025 where it detected and tracked Russian military aircraft operating in the Alaskan Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ). The events all took place in international airspace — near but not inside North American airspace.

There were no acknowledged sea incursions, at least in the public statements. However, it was acknowledged last summer that the Canadian military kept tabs on a Chinese research vessel when it was in Arctic waters off Alaska for the second time in two years.

Guillot said he's confident in NORAD's ability to keep eyes on the region and to defend the Far North, if necessary. The remarks were made in a year-end interview just prior to the renewed crisis over Greenland and U.S. President Donald Trump's threat to annex the Danish territory.

If you look at the map of North America as a clock, Guillot said, most of the activity they've witnessed is in the 10 o'clock position over Alaska. The activity in the two o'clock position, near Greenland, appears to be on — and under — the sea.

"There's certainly Russian activity in the Arctic to the east of our continent," Guillot said. 

"A lot of times that activity, if it's in the maritime domain, will go through what we call the GIUK gap, Greenland-Iceland-United Kingdom gap, and then out into the Atlantic, but not necessarily coming close to Canadian or United States territorial waters."

Guillot also said he's had extensive talks with Canada's top military commander, Gen. Jennie Carignan, on the mechanics of how Canada could join the Trump administration's self-titled Golden Dome missile defence system.

The federal government is currently in discussions and negotiations with the United States about joining the initiative but has not yet formally committed to full participation.