The Chair of the NATO Military Committee visits Ramstein Flag 2026

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Kallax Air Base, Sweden, 16 June 2026 – The Chair of the NATO Military Committee, Admiral Giuseppe Cavo Dragone, travelled to Norway, Sweden and Finland to visit NATO’s Ramstein Flag 2026 exercise, which brought Allied Air Forces together for two weeks of multinational training.

During the two-day visit, Admiral Cavo Dragone, together with other distinguished visitors, received an executive overview of the exercise, including briefings and direct observations of the ongoing training missions.

The major tactical-level live-flying air exercise involved forces from up to 18 Allied nations across three Joint Operations Areas, from northern Norway to southern Spain. More than 200 aircraft and aerial assets deployed to 20 operational locations, including main operating bases and highway strips, with Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland and Spain serving as primary host nations.

In his speech, the Chair of the NATO Military Committee emphasised that “to deter and, if necessary, defend, NATO must continue to invest in air capabilities that can fly faster than sound, see further than the eye, decide faster than any opponent, and respond at the speed required by modern warfare.” He also emphasised that this investment should cover both state-of-the-art equipment and the training of the people who operate it.

“In the air domain, deterrence and defence require the integration of science, operational art, engineering, computing and human performance. Together, these allow NATO to detect, understand, decide and act across 360 degrees, from every direction and against every threat. This is what our societies expect from us,” underlined Admiral Giuseppe Cavo Dragone.

Ramstein Flag 2026 focused on Integrated Air and Missile Defence (IAMD), Counter Anti-Access/Area Denial (C-A2AD) operations, rapid information-sharing and Agile Combat Employment (ACE). Conducted under the framework of the enhanced Vigilance Activity (eVA) Eastern Sentry, the exercise supported NATO’s real-world deterrence and defence posture. It reinforced the Alliance’s 360-degree approach, strengthened readiness for collective defence and demonstrated the ability of Allied Air Forces to integrate rapidly across air, land, maritime, cyber and space domains.