NATO AIR SHIELDING MISSION
First of all, I would like to tell you about NATO’S Allied Air Command. On June 28, 1974, the first NATO air headquarters – Allied Air Forces Central Europe or AAFCE – was established at Ramstein Air Base with staff from Belgium, Canada, Germany, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and the United States. Its task was to provide central direction and control for the air forces in the European Central Region through the co-ordination of the headquarters of Second Allied Tactical Air Force based at Rheindahlen and Fourth Allied Tactical Air Force based at Heidelberg.
During the early 1990s, a major reorganization of the NATO command and control structure was initiated. Given the decreasing numbers of Allied aircraft in Europe, a downsizing of Central Region Air Force headquarters occurred during 1993; AAFCE was expanded to absorb their functions. On July 1, 1993, the new AIRCENT headquarters was officially formed.
The reform of NATO’s Command Structure in 2011 reduced the number of military integration headquarters from eleven to seven. As the new structure unfolded during 2013, the Allied Air Headquarters at Izmir, Turkey, and Ramstein, Germany, were amalgamated and concentrated at Ramstein. Since August 2016, Allied Air Command has responsibility over all air-related matters within NATO.
In December 2019, NATO Heads of State and Government declared Space as the Alliance’s “fifth domain” of operations, alongside land, sea, air and cyberspace. NATO Defense Ministers subsequently agreed to the creation of NATO’s Space center at Allied Air Command in October 2020.
NATO Air Policing is a peacetime collective defense mission involving the use of the air surveillance and control system, air command and control and appropriate air defense assets, including interceptors, for preserving the integrity of the NATO airspace part of Alliance airspace. For NATO nations that do not have the necessary air capabilities i.e. Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, agreements exist to ensure a standard of airspace security within SACEUR’s (The Supreme Allied Commander Europe) area of responsibility. NATO’s Air Policing mission in the Baltic States is referred to as Baltic Air Policing or BAP; this mission demonstrates the ability of the Alliance to share and pool existing capabilities. BAP is a regional form of NATO’s Air Policing and has been executed continuously since April 2004; so far, 17 NATO nations have participated in this mission. Like Air Policing in the rest of European NATO skies, BAP is conducted to protect the integrity of Allies’ airspace. The Alliance started enhanced Air Policing or eAP in the North and in the South as part of NATO’s Assurance Measures (AM) introduced in 2014. At the time, the Alliance started implementing these AMs with the goal to demonstrate the collective resolve of Allies, demonstrate the defensive nature of NATO and deter Russia from aggression or the threat of aggression against NATO Allies. Assurance is flexible and scalable in response to changes in the security situation facing the Alliance. AMs are designed to send a strong and unambiguous message to the public. The AMs are the “new normal” and demonstrate strategic depth and geographical breadth. To enhance Air Policing, NATO authorized Allies to provide assets to the Alliance supplementing existing Baltic Air Policing capabilities in the north (i.e. Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland) and, in parallel, augmenting National Air Policing capabilities in the south (i.e. Bulgaria and Romania). Since April 2014, Allied fighter jet detachments have continuously augmented the BAP mission under the eAP concept in the north. The lead nation is always at Šiauliai, while augmenting nations fly out of Ämari, Estonia and Malbork, Poland. Of note the detachment in Poland can be replaced by an additional detachment in Lithuania. In that case two detachments operate from Šiauliai, one for BAP and one for eAP. In the south, Allies have been flying NATO Air Policing missions alongside Bulgarian and Romanian fighters since 2014. Allied fighter detachments deploy to Bulgaria and Romania. Following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, NATO’s Air Policing capability has been further enhanced. Additional Allies have deployed their fighters to the eastern flank augmenting in-place forces.
How does an Air Policing Intercept Work in Practical Terms?
Allied radars pick up a track of interest out of more than 30,000 air movements daily inside the European airspace. If the corresponding aircraft is not squawking (using its transponder) or is not in radio contact with civilian air traffic control or has not filed a flight plan, the track is reported to one of the two NATO CAOCs (at Uedem, Germany, and Torrejon, Spain) which decides whether or not to launch a Quick Reaction Alert (Interceptor) aircraft from one of the Allies’ air bases that are on 24/7 stand-by for such missions. Once launched the QRA(I) jet is controlled by a Control and Reporting Center and brought up close to the unidentified aircraft. In accordance with the respective International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and NATO documents there are no restrictions for the positioning of intercepting aircraft. However, it should not fly closer than required to accomplish the mission. This ensures that the pilot-in-command of the intercepted aircraft has visual contact and is aware of how the interception is proceeding. Intercepting pilots must conduct their mission in accordance with recommended rules approved by the ICAO. Ensuring flight safety is priority number one. This is further amplified by national flying regulations. The CAOC will monitor the whole operation and report to HQ AIRCOM where all information about intercepts is registered in the Air Policing and Reporting section. All scrambles are initiated by a CAOC and conducted with NATO-assigned aircraft. In accordance with the respective ICAO and NATO documents the positioning of intercepting aircraft is unrestricted, but not closer than required to accomplish the mission, making sure that the pilot-in command of the intercepted aircraft has visual contact and is aware of the development of the interception; and must conduct their mission in accordance with recommended rules approved by the ICAO, ensuring flight safety is priority one ICAO provides the following recommendations for the maneuvering of intercepting aircraft for the purpose of visually identifying an aircraft (both civilian and military).
Phase I: The intercepting aircraft should approach the identified aircraft from astern. The element leader, or the single intercepting aircraft, should normally take up a position on the left (port) side, slightly above and ahead of the intercepted aircraft, within the field of view of the pilot of the intercepted aircraft, maintaining a distance of at least 300 meters.
Phase II: The element leader, or the single intercepting aircraft, should begin closing in gently on the intercepted aircraft, at the same level, until no closer than absolutely necessary to obtain the information needed. The element leader, or the single intercepting aircraft, should use caution to avoid startling the flight crew of the intercepted aircraft, keeping constantly in mind the fact that maneuvers considered normal to an intercepting aircraft may be considered hazardous to passengers and crews of civil aircraft. Upon completion of identification, the intercepting aircraft should withdraw from the vicinity of the intercepted aircraft as outlined in Phase III.
Phase III: The element leader, or the single intercepting aircraft, should break gently away from the intercepted aircraft in a shallow dive. Air safety and security is broader than the use of transponders or flights plans. It is also about how planes fly, how close they fly to others, whether they respect safety regulations, and what efforts are made to avoid incidents and accidents.
Why the NATO Air Shielding Mission Started
Following the Russian invasion of Ukraine there has been an increased use of missiles, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) and combat aircraft close to the borders of NATO nations. This increases the air and missile threat to NATO territory and populations, primarily due to miscalculation or loss of guidance or control. The Air Shielding mission provides an enhanced posture that allows the Alliance to deter and mitigate any potential adversarial threat. Air Shielding will provide the following benefits to the Alliance;
In support of the NATO Integrated Air and Missile Defense (NATO IAMD) system Air Shielding offers an agile solution, although initially orientated along the eastern flank it retains the flexibility to orientate towards any emerging threat.
The Air Shielding is purely defensive mission designed to shield and protect Allied territory and populations and a key component of NATO’s Deterrence and Defense Posture.
Allied nations will contribute Fighter and Surface Based Air and Missile Defense (SBAMD) units on a rotational basis to forward operating basis on the eastern flank. This will be a collaborative effort and act as the cornerstone in NATO’s collective defense.
The deployed units will also enhance Allied interoperability through regular multidomain training exercises. This is a clear expression of NATO’s commitment to readiness which promotes regional security and stability.
Raptors in Poland
F-22 Raptor is an American single-seat, twin-engine, all-weather stealth tactical fighter aircraft developed for the United States Air Force (USAF). As the result of the USAF's Advanced Tactical Fighter (ATF) program, the aircraft was designed as an air superiority fighter, but also has ground attack, electronic warfare, and signals intelligence capabilities. The USAF had originally planned to buy a total of 750 ATFs. In 2009, the program was cut to 187 operational aircraft due to high costs. A combination of sensor capability, integrated avionics, situational awareness, and weapons provides first-kill opportunity against threats. The F-22 possesses a sophisticated sensor suite allowing the pilot to track, identify, shoot and kill air-to-air threats before being detected. Significant advances in cockpit design and sensor fusion improve the pilot's situational awareness. In the air-to-air configuration the Raptor carries six AIM-120 AMRAAMs and two AIM-9 Sidewinders. Advances in low-observable technologies provide significantly improved survivability and lethality against air-to-air and surface-to-air threats. The F-22 brings stealth into the day, enabling it not only to protect itself but other assets. The combination of sleek aerodynamic design and increased thrust allows the F-22 to cruise at supersonic airspeeds (greater than 1.5 Mach) without using afterburner -- a characteristic known as super cruise. Super cruise greatly expands the F-22 's operating envelope in both speed and range over current fighters, which must use fuel-consuming afterburner to operate at supersonic speeds.
Twelve F-22A Raptors from the 90th Fighter Squadron (FS), 3rd Wing, Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, have forward deployed to 32nd Tactical Base in Łask, Poland. The Raptors travelled to Europe on August 4 to support NATO Air Shielding, part of the organization’s plan to augment its defensive stance in Eastern Europe. The 90th FS has taken over this role from USAF F-35A Lightnings assigned to the Vermont Air National Guard’s 158th Fighter Wing. The Vermont F-35s have been conducting NATO Air Policing missions since May 2, 2022.
The fifth-generation stealth fighters were chosen for this particular NATO mission because of their “ability to provide lethality and survivability against any emerging high-end threats,” also “It will provide a near seamless shield from the Baltic to Black Seas, ensuring NATO Allies are better able to safeguard and protect Alliance territory, populations and forces from air and missile threats.” according to the USAF.
Sending a dozen of the most potent air-to-air fighters on the planet to the border of Ukraine certainly sends a strong message to Russia “Don’t try anything”
The Italian Air Force deployed four Eurofighter Typhoon multirole aircraft at the 22nd Tactical Air Base in Malbork, north-east of Poland, as part of NATO Baltic Air Policing. This marks the first such mission to Poland for Italian Typhoon jets as they previously provided protection to the Baltic States operating from Estonia and Lithuania
