At the turn of April and May 2025, twelve members of No. 99 Squadron Royal Air Force (RAF) spent a week in the Arctic Circle delivering supplies to the world’s northernmost located base.
The C-17 Globemaster III aircrew and ground support crew, both based daily at the RAF Brize Norton station, worked alongside their Canadian allies resupplying the Canadian Forces Station (CFS) Alert, which is located more than 1,770 kilometres (1,100 miles) beyond the Arctic Circle.
The CFS Alert, situated at over 82 degrees North latitude, is the northernmost permanent human settlement on Earth. It is primarily engaged in conducting crucial climate change related research but also participates in a number of Canadian Armed Forces operations. Every year, when the Arctic Sea freezes over, the only way to get there is by aircraft, usually a C-130 or C-17, landing on a snow and gravel runway that is 1,676 metres (5,500 feet) long.
The resupply of the outpost, known as the Operation Boxtop, is carried out twice a year by C-17 crews from the 429th Transport Squadron of the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF), flying between Pituffik Space Base in Greenland and the CFS Alert. Within that operation, fuel and equipment are provided to keep the station operational during the harsh Arctic winters. In 2025, for the second year in a row, the RAF crews joined the Canadians to study how they conduct polar operations and to learn landing techniques on partially prepared runways.
‘Flying in the extreme north presents a number of challenges that us Brits aren’t used to. When it’s -40°C even the simplest things can get difficult real quick, and when you’re landing a 200-ton jet on a strip less than half the length of Heathrow, that’s also covered in ice, it’s far from simple!’ – said Flight Lieutenant Chandler, the RAF detachment commander.
‘It’s been amazing to learn from the Canadians. These guys are born for this stuff and training this far North is an awesome opportunity we can’t get anywhere else.’ – added Flight Lieutenant Shaw,
Junior co-pilot.
During the Operation Boxtop 2025, which lasted two weeks, the Canadian and British crews delivered, among others, a total of almost two million litres of jet fuel, straight from the aircraft tanks to the containers at the CFS Alert. It will be used to power everything at the base – from heaters and generators to radios and scientific equipment.
Cover photo: The RCAF CC-177 Globemaster III strategic airlifter on the runway at the CFS Alert. (Royal Air Force © Crown copyright / OGL licence)
The Royal Air Force press release materials were used in the article under the UK Ministry of Defence © Crown copyright Editorial License
