NATO Air Policing

The NATO Air Policing mission

Safeguarding the integrity of airspace is a permanent peacetime task contributing to NATO’s collective defence. It is a clear sign of cohesion, shared responsibility and solidarity across the Alliance. Moreover, NATO Air Policing forces also provide support to civilian aircraft in distress – when they have lost communication with air traffic control, for example.

Established in 1961 during the Cold War, NATO Air Policing has been an integral part of NATO Integrated Air and Missile Defence (IAMD) for decades. On duty 24/7/365, NATO Air Policing is a constant in a rapidly changing security environment, giving NATO the capability to protect its skies in peacetime.

The NATO Air Policing mission is carried out using the NATO Integrated Air and Missile Defence System (NATINAMDS). The Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR) has the overall responsibility for the conduct of the mission.

Allied Air Command (AIRCOM), headquartered in Ramstein, Germany, oversees the NATO Air Policing mission with 24/7 command and control from two Combined Air Operations Centres (CAOCs): one in Torrejón, Spain, which covers airspace south of the Alps, and one in Uedem, Germany covering the north. When an interception is required – in the case of airspace violations, suspicious air activity close to the Alliance’s borders or other kinds of unsafe air traffic that does not adhere to international air safety norms – the relevant CAOC decides which aircraft will be used, according to the location of the incident.  

Regional assistance

NATO member countries provide the necessary aircraft and assets for air policing, either individually or in multinational teams, under SACEUR direction. Countries without the necessary means to do so are assisted by other NATO members. NATO currently oversees five regional air policing missions.

Baltic States

NATO has been protecting the Baltic skies since 2004, when Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania joined the Alliance. NATO member countries that possess the required capabilities voluntarily contribute to the NATO Air Policing mission in the Baltic States and this responsibility is rotated every four months. Since the mission’s deployment in 2004, participating NATO fighter aircraft have been based at Šiauliai Air Base in Lithuania. Since 2014, NATO aircraft have also been based at Ämari Air Base in Estonia.

Enhanced Air Policing on NATO’s eastern flank

As a part of the broad set of assurance measures introduced following Russia’s illegal annexation of Crimea in 2014, Allies are providing additional assets to enhance air policing along NATO’s eastern borders. To that end, Allies supplement the existing NATO Air Policing forces in the Baltic States, deploy additional aircraft to Poland, and augment the national air policing capabilities of the Bulgarian and Romanian air forces.

Eastern Adriatic and Western Balkans

NATO Allies have conducted air policing missions in the Eastern Adriatic and Western Balkans since a number of countries in the region joined the Alliance. Hungary and Italy have covered Slovenia’s airspace since its accession to NATO in 2004. Greece and Italy have covered the airspace of Albania since 2009, Montenegro since 2017 and North Macedonia since 2020.

Iceland

Since May 2008, Allies have periodically deployed fighter aircraft to Keflavík Air Base to provide protection for Icelandic airspace. Prior to this, the United States conducted air policing as part of its military presence in Iceland from 1951-2006. The Iceland air policing mission is different from other regional assistance missions in that it does not permanently cover Iceland’s airspace. Instead, it typically involves a deployment of fighter aircraft from a NATO Ally for a period of three to four weeks, three times a year.

Benelux

In 2015, Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands (known collectively as the Benelux countries) signed an agreement to conduct joint air policing of their territories. Under this agreement, the Belgian and Dutch air forces defend the Benelux airspace on a rotational basis. The joint operations started on 1 January 2017.