Alaska has long been on the front lines of defending the United States. During World War II and throughout the Cold War, our state played a central role in protecting the homeland. But after the Cold War, that focus shifted, and the Pentagon began to treat Alaska like a strategic backwater -closing bases, shuttering armories, and proposing reductions in force levels.
Since I was elected Senator, working with Alaskans across the state, I made it a priority to reverse this trend and reestablish Alaska as a cornerstone of America’s defense. Because of this effort, we are now in the midst of the most significant military buildup in Alaska since World War II.
Just last week, at a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing, General Caine, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, confirmed that the Administration’s budget includes a major new investment: the Fighter Town Recapitalization Project at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson. This historic project will modernize JBER with a state-of-the-art fighter complex capable of supporting multiple platforms for decades to come, with a total investment of $7 billion, likely the biggest military investment in our state’s history. This project will not only significantly strengthen our national security and power projection in the Arctic but will also bring a significant economic boon to our state.
Since 2019, there have been more than 100 Russian aircraft incursions, four Chinese vessel transits, and over a dozen joint Russian-Chinese operations off Alaska’s coasts and in our airspace.
In 2022, Alaska’s 4/25 Infantry Brigade Combat Team was reflagged to become the storied 11th Airborne Division, now one of only two airborne divisions in the entire U.S. military. This outcome did not happen by accident – it followed years of sustained effort I led pushing back against proposals that would have reduced or hollowed out the brigade, including direct engagement with senior Pentagon leaders, public advocacy, and close coordination with Alaska’s military and community leaders to underscore the unit’s strategic value. These efforts helped secure the 4/25’s future and elevate its mission, marking a true sea change in the Pentagon’s approach to the Arctic by recognizing Alaska is a central platform for projecting American strength and defending the homeland.
The momentum didn’t end there. Eielson Air Force Base now hosts two squadrons of F-35s, and together with F-22s at JBER, Alaska now has more than 100 fifth-generation fighters, the largest concentration of these advanced aircraft anywhere in the world.
We have also strengthened our refueling capabilities by securing additional KC-135 tankers at Eielson Air Force Base – bringing critical support aircraft, personnel, and families to the Interior. On missile defense, the Long Range Discrimination Radar at Clear Space Force Station is now operational, enhancing our ability to detect and defeat advanced threats, alongside upgrades to the COBRA DANE radar and new missile interceptors at Fort Greely.
ALASKA WATCHMAN DIRECT TO YOUR INBOX
This buildup is significantly boosting our state’s economy and providing good-paying jobs for Alaskans. But it’s also keeping our homeland safe. It comes at a time of increasing aggression from our adversaries in the Arctic. Since 2019, there have been more than 100 Russian aircraft incursions, four Chinese vessel transits, and over a dozen joint Russian-Chinese operations off Alaska’s coasts and in our airspace.
In recent hearings I chaired, both in Anchorage on Arctic maritime investments and in the Senate Armed Services Committee on military readiness, senior military leaders made clear these incursions are becoming the new normal – coordinated efforts by Russia and China to test America’s defenses and resolve in the Arctic, making these military investments more important than ever.
Taken together, these developments underscore a simple reality: Alaska is once again being recognized for what it has always been – the cornerstone of America’s Arctic defense. We are rebuilding the military strength that our state requires, our nation depends on, and sending a clear message to our adversaries that the United States is prepared to defend our interests in the Arctic and beyond.
The views expressed here are those of the author.
13 Comments
Dan ” I love all the wars” Sullivan
Israel Lobby Total: $582,162
PACs: $582,162
AIPAC, COPAC, NATPAC, RJC, NORPAC
Repudiate the war and send your Israel Lobby money back and I will vote for you. Don’t and I won’t. America First and only.
Micah, you’re a part of our problem!
No. I am part of The Great Noticing. America First and Only. No more wars for foreign states.
Let’s audit the federal government, beginning with the Pentagon. How much of our money are we being defrauded by defense contractors?
If you are a boomer APA, then tick tick tick…
Make America Great Again. We need to take care of America first.
I wonder what the fuel bill is up to for the military up here….
I applaud Sen. Dan Sullivan on building and upgrading Alaska’s military readiness, correspondingly thanks for your work on reopening ADAK military base and the Deep Water Port on the Seward Peninsula…
Only hypocritical republican mega spender Sullivan would consider a major military build up as a good thing. Sullivan=Trump. November=Peltola.
No marxists. Let’s deport all marxists! That would be great fun and amazing for our country. We could begin with you and then Mary.
One of us, a) doesn’t know what a marxist is, and b) doesn’t know much about me. And I was THIS CLOSE to replying agreement to your dig at Dan ” I love all the wars” Sullivan.
You know what I miss while living in Alaska? I miss not seeing our US Navy ships and vessels not docking in Alaska anymore. The last US Navy vessel I saw was in 2007 in Juneau when the residents of Juneau celebrated the last trip of the USS Juneau LPD 10. Let me tell you, that we partied and celebrated with the crew and thanked them for all they do. Today, after being decommissioned in 2008 the USS Juneau LPD 10 is awaiting historical, attritional record keeping at a harbor in Hawaii. In the recent past history of US Navy vessels docking in harbors, many came into Anchorage in the 1990’s and a nuclear submarine docked in 1987 in Seward, Alaska. I saw a couple of US Navy frigates dock in Juneau when I lived there but there has been no more mention or written notice of visits to our communities. Why is that? Why don’t we hear more about them and why don’t we see them in our harbors and ports? The Cook Inlet is prime for such vessels and so are the fjords of Seward, Whittier and all the passage of Southeast Alaska with its deep waters and coves. We, Alaskans have a lot to offer to the US Navy for harbor and docking usage.
In the future, we should see larger vessels from the Coast Guard and ice breakers, but the US Navy should be ever present to our waters and seen by the people of Alaska in our harbors and coastal waters from the far north to the southern tip of Southeast Alaska. The history and present purpose of our ships that carry our Naval sailors and the US Marines should be visible, worked with and shown with dignity the protection of our navigation on the seas and shores of our state with honor. You know what else I don’t see as far as our US Navy is concerned? No US Naval base and no US Marine training grounds. Why is that? Why haven’t you presented such defense and building purposes to the President of the United States, Donald Trump? Why is this shelved and not put forward in the defense of this northern zone for our armed forces? It is the best defense today and the future of our waters. I strongly suggest you take this seriously and bring on the strength of the US Navy and the US Marines into Alaskan waters and shores. Don’t think for a minute in time, we would not be honored to have them because we would! We are a state that has been treated like a step child for years and never do we have the concrete evidence of protection of our Navy and Marines in navigable waters. Coast Guard is not enough. We have the whole Willow area in the Mat Su borough that would be great training grounds for Marines and its not even thought of or used in a conversation. We have ANWR in the Arctic that would be ideal for a Navy base or huge training grounds up there by P:t. Thomson. Why is there no conversation on that? We have thousands of miles of coast line that is unprotected and never a “peep” out of you, Sen. Sullivan. I believe you should think beyond navigable “air” improvements and look to the “whole” of Alaska to plan development for defense. Alaska will not be compartmentalized to fit into one thought on defense. This state needs better in planning, purpose and defense than what has been put out there in the past. Open your thinking Sen. Sullivan and plan on a well rounded defense for this state. Time to do that is NOW! You have not been doing your job.
MAGA!!!
Wish he would help get rid of the union requirement for federal projects over 35 million. Many contractors are locked out of those projects and that’s wrong.
Sullivan voted to confirm every one of trump’s cabinet nominees. Bondi, Patel, Kennedy, Hegseth, Burgum,