[sudosysgen]

It's not quite that. The US isn't claiming that they should have access to the Northwest Passage as an arctic nation, but rather that there should be international right of passage through the Northwest Territory, ie, between Canadian landmasses.

There is militarily 0 need to use an F-35 to intercept Russian bombers. Actually the F-35 is pretty bad at interceptions. The F-35 has a pitiful 1100km combat radius, and cannot supercruise. The Gripen is a bit better and may be able to supercruise meaning that it's effective interception range is significantly better, and most importantly can usefully utilise drop-tanks. Even the CF-18 is a better interceptor than the F-35.

The F-35 is not the right choice to deter Russia in the arctic. It's the right choice if you're planning an invasion or need to do strike missions past enemy air defences, or if you're going to be doing air-to-air combat far from home.