Welcome to 4 Wing

Welcome to 4 Wing Cold Lake, Canada’s largest and busiest fighter wing and site of a number of exciting training opportunities.

4 Wing – with its focus on people, leadership, innovation and technology – is an international centre of excellence for tactical fighter operations, leading-edge technology, and deployable combat support.

This fighter wing is made up of two operational CF-18 squadrons, two training squadrons, and a host of first-rate support units. The Wing is proud to be host to Phase IV of NATO Flying in Canada (NFTC), a training program that contributes to making NATO a strong fighting force.

Some of the best and most sought after amenities in the world, including an almost unrestricted 1.17 million hectare air weapons range equipped with state-of-the-art threats and targets; a vast array of support facilities; an annual, international air combat exercise called Maple Flag – these are just a few of the reasons 4 Wing Cold Lake is a leading, world-class centre for coalition training.

4 Wing Vision

The goal of 4 Wing is to be an international centre of excellence for tactical fighter operations, deployable combat support, and leading-edge technology.

4 Wing Mission

4 Wing will train, deploy, and support World-Class Tactical Fighter
Forces to meet Canada's Defence & Security Requirements - Domestically,
Continentally and/or Internationally.

Message from the Wing Commander

Welcome to Cold Lake.

I am extremely pleased that you are considering the exciting, world-class training opportunities offered by 4 Wing Cold Lake. This fighter-base, which is the largest and busiest fighter base in Canada, is a source of great pride for me, and I am sure the reasons why will become evident as you explore the material contained in this Tactical Training Opportunities for Coalition Partners information package.

4 Wing is an international centre of excellence for tactical fighter operations and training. With its vast expanses of open terrain and unrestricted airspace, its cutting-edge technology, its superior weapons ranges and target complexes, and its knowledgeable and experienced personnel, 4 Wing is ready to work with its international partners to achieve specific unit tactical training goals.

Many exceptional training opportunities exist at 4 Wing for Canada’s friends and allies. With its proven expeditionary facilities, knowledgeable personnel, and location in a sparsely-populated area of Canada, 4 Wing is the ideal venue for expeditionary force training.

The fighter-base’s reputation and experience with large-scale international air combat exercises such as Maple Flag makes the Wing the perfect venue for any type of tactical fighter pilot training. Exercise Maple Flag presents opportunities for the entire war fighting team to plan, coordinate and execute the coalition air campaign, including the application of the entire weapon system’s team against defended targets and capable adversaries in a real-world scenario.

As fighter forces around the world embrace simulation, emulation, no-drop-bomb scoring, ADCTS, etc., venues such as the Cold Lake Air Weapons Range (CLAWR) will continue to be vital to the development of coalition air operations.

The secret to 4 Wing Cold Lake’s success continues to be commitment, dedication and teamwork underpinned by a burning desire to attain the highest possible level of excellence. I look forward to welcoming you to 4 Wing, and exploring with you the tactical training opportunities available at 4 Wing. I am confident these training opportunities will help maintain and develop allied interoperability and help make our militaries stronger fighting forces.