IceBird Winter 2023 is part of a long-term sea ice observation program within the IceBird aircraft campaign series. IceBird was initiated in 2018 with the objective to ensure the long-term availability of a unique data record of direct sea-ice thickness observations to understand the role of the sea ice component for the causes and consequences of Arctic change, but is built on the heritage of airborne sea-ice thickness observations that date back to 2004. Compared to earlier airborne programs, IceBird has been enhanced with an improved sensor setup that also allows measuring snow depth on sea ice, fully collocated with sea-ice thickness and surface roughness at high resolution. The objectives of IceBird Winter 2023 include the continued quantification of trends, the separation of variability and extreme events of sea ice thickness and its snow cover in the Western Seas of the Arctic Ocean. The continuation of airborne sea-ice observation programs fulfils the requirement of consistent and long-term observations of key climate parameters. The data will be used to improve understanding of the response of sea ice and its snow cover to the ongoing warming of the Arctic and to improve snow models. Airborne data of snow and sea-ice thickness are also critically needed for the evaluation of sea-ice remote sensing products as well as for the evolution of algorithms for current and future satellite missions. Surveys from IceBird Winter 2023 will target the validation of sea-ice freeboard and snow depth estimates from CryoSat-2, ICESat-2, Sentinel-3A/B and AltiKa altimeters.