A joint approach to secure safety
Since the earlier slowly rising of tensions in the Russian – Ukrainian border areas, have evolved into the current war between both countries late February of this year, it had an immediate effect to the surrounding and other nearby European countries. Although the signs of Russian military forces gathering close to the Ukraine border were monitored during the months before, only a few would have thought it would lead to a new war scene. As a consequence the neighbouring countries, of which a majority is bonded being member of NATO, started to prepare their defences towards the sudden changed and uncertain regional future developments.
Radar and Intel
Next to countries national preparations, the NATO community bundled the individual efforts into a common approach in order to be prepared to defend the territory of member states against whatever future threat which may come ahead. Although near border monitoring flights of NATO intelligence and radar aircraft had become a routine and carried out on a regular base over the past decades, these flights were immediately organised into a continues ongoing day and night operation from the moment the war started on 24 February 2022. One of the key players for these flights were NATO’s own E-3A Airborne Warning And Control System (AWACS) aircraft of the NATO Airborne Early Warning & Control (NAEW&C) force based at Geilenkirchen Air Base, Germany. Based on the Boeing 707 aircraft, the military NATO AWACS version has now in operations for 50 years, since 1982. For the current monitoring flights, other radar and intel aircraft include French L’armee de l’air E-3CF Sentry’s from Avord air base and RAF RC-135W Rivet Joint aircraft from Waddington air base. The USAF has a variety of aircraft deployed to Europe which include U-2 Dragon Lady aircraft operating from RAF Fairford in the UK, further a rotating mixture of several versions of RC-135 aircraft operating out of RAF Mildenhall, UK, an E-8C Joint Stars flying from Ramstein air base, Germany and additionally the US Army operates several Beech RC-12 Guardrails out of the Baltic States. On an occasional base extra support came from an Italian Gulfstream G-550 Conformal Airborne Early Warning (CAEW) aircraft, which has its home base at Pratica di Mare air base. Sweden, although not being a NATO member, is also performing monitoring flights with their Saab 340 AEWCS S100 Argus and Gulfstream S102B aircraft on a regular base. The area in which the monitoring flights are conducted, ranges from the northern Baltic States down to the southern regions of Romania, Bulgaria and Black Sea.
Fighters
In the same areas, local based fighter aircraft conduct patrol missions together with temporary detached units of other NATO allies. Some of these detachments included USAF F-15’s from Seymour Johnson AB, USA as well as from RAF Lakenheath, UK together with F-35’s from the same base. USAFE F-16 units from Spangdahlem AB, Germany and Aviano AB in Italy do also deploy regularly to the eastern European countries and fly patrol missions together with the fighter aircraft of local air forces. European countries who deploy on a rotational base fighter aircraft to Eastern Europe include Italy, mainly with Eurofighters from joined units, Spain with Eurofighters and F-18 Hornets, Germany also with Eurofighters, the UK with Typhoons, The Netherlands with F-35 and France with Mirage 2000’s and Rafale’s. Additionally the US Navy flies missions from their aircraft carrier USS Truman CVN-75 sailing in the Mediterranean. To fulfil the on-going patrol mission requirements, it was more than welcome that an USAF unit was already on a regular deployment in Europe before the war had started. Earlier in February, 12 F-35A Lightning II aircraft from the 388th Fighter Wing at Hill AFB, had touched down at Spangdahlem AB in Germany after a trans- Atlantic flight.
Spangdahlem
The fighter aircraft included a mixture of assets from the 4th, the 34th and the 421st Fighter Squadrons. When the war started a few of the aircraft were further forward deployed to conduct their patrol missions. Later on, the aircraft continued with their patrol missions, which can last to 6 or 7 hours, from their German detachment base, Spangdahlem. Late March six USN EA 18G Growlers from VAQ-134 joined the Hill F-35’s at Spangdahlem and could also been seen flying long lasting patrol missions. VAQ-134 is one of the USN land based unit which can provide support when and where needed. Recently it was announced by the USN that VAQ-134 and the other land base VAQ units will be taken out of service from 2023 on as a cost reduction measure. That Spangdahlem is one of the European bases which is playing an important role in the operations, also with several temporary deployed KC-135 tanker aircraft at the base, was already clear. Nevertheless early May another 8 USAF F-35’s from 134th Fighter Squadron of Vermont Air National Guard (ANG) arrived here. The new Lightning II aircraft will most likely be a replacement to relieve one of the units already longer on European deployment.
Air-to-air refuelling
To make all the fighter aircraft able to fulfil their several hour lasting patrol missions, a huge supporting tanker aircraft fleet is available. French and American KC-135’s, Spanish and German A-400’s, British Voyagers, Italian KC-767’s, French A-332’s, but also USAF KC-10 and KC-46 aircraft together with multinational A-330MRTT’s, fly from various stations all over Europe to provide continuous aerial refuelling capacity on scene. Overlooking the whole operation it can be assumed that the annual NATO joint training exercises for fighter, transport and tanker aircraft according mutual agreed procedures are considered as essential to be able executing multinational operations on a scale and size as we see now.
Text and photos by Peter ten Berg