Northern Edge 23-2
Lt. Col. Catalina Rosales 1-1 Air Defense Artillery Battalion Commander
94th Army Air and Missile Defense Command
U.S. Army Video by Sgt. ZaBarr Jones and Maj. Trevor Wild
07.17.2023
PALAU

U.S. Army air defenders from 1-1 Air Defense Artillery Battalion, 38th Air Defense Artillery Brigade, deployed from Japan to the Republic of Palau to conduct a Patriot live-fire exercise at Roman Tmetuchl International Airport as part of Northern Edge Exercise 23-2, July 17, 2023.

Alpha Battery, 1-1 ADA Battalion successfully engaged a cruise missile surrogate target with a MIM-104 Patriot surface-to-air missile designed to intercept long-range air threats such as missiles and aircraft. For a second year, the 38th ADA Brigade out of Japan deployed a Patriot Battery to Palau in order to exercise its combat capabilities. Leadership from the brigade worked closely with the Palau government to ensure the exercise was conducted safely by notifying locals through the U.S. Embassy and clearing the impact area of bystanders before engagement.

The Patriot live-fire in Palau is part of a more extensive brigade exercise called “Talon Lighting,” which consist of a series of deployments throughout the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, such as a 1-1 ADA Battalion Patriot launcher to Tinian; a Sentinel X-Band Radar and two Avenger air defense systems from Echo Battery, 6-52 Air Defense Artillery Battalion equipped with Stinger missiles to Yap; and to Rota, where E-3 Terminal High Altitude Area Defense Battery deployed a THAAD Remote Launch Kit to test their remote firing capabilities. The Talon Lighting exercise falls underneath the greater Pacific Air Force-led Northern Edge 23-2.

Northern Edge 23-2 is a multilateral exercise that enhances interoperability and cooperation and tests defensive readiness in the Indo-Pacific region.

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