RAMSTEIN, Germany – Partners from the air forces of Azerbaijan, Algeria and Finland are taking part in Headquarters Allied Air Command’s primary training event for 2018, Exercise RAMSTEIN AMBITION (RAAN 18).  Four Finnish officers are actively participating, while three Azerbaijani and two Algerian officers are observing how the Joint Force Air Component Headquarters (JFAC HQ) is tackling Command and Control of Allied air forces in a Joint Operation.

 

"This is a very useful and welcome opportunity to see first-hand how the members of the NATO Alliance’s air forces are cooperating to execute and conduct such a complex operation,” said Lieutenant-Colonel Huseyn Ismayilov from the Azerbaijan Air Force, one of three officers who joined Major Samad Huseynov, an Azerbaijan liaison officer deployed to Allied Air Command. "We had the chance to look at every step of this complicated process of Air Command and Control,” he added.

 

"For the Algerian Territorial Air Defence Force it is a pleasure to come to NATO’s Allied Air Command,” said Colonel Slimane Mallem from the Algerian Territorial Air Defence Force. Together with a colleague he used the two weeks of RAAN 18 to gain closer insights into Allied tactics, techniques and procedures. "As a Partner of NATO we are keen to be involved in the Air domain to learn more about the functioning and processes of command and control during Air Operations,” he added.

 

During RAAN 18, four Finnish officers are actively working inside the JFAC HQ planning division. As a member of the enhanced opportunities partnership for dialogue and cooperation, Finland’s cooperation with NATO has been reinforced over the years since the country joined NATO’s Partnership for Peace in 1994. "Our Air Force contributes regularly to the NATO Response Force and Allied operations, and this year our FA-18 fighter aircraft are flying alongside Allied aircraft during all three RAMSTEIN ALLOY exercises,” said Finnish Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Rami Lindstrom. "It is consistent and quite natural that we further expand our knowledge and skills in the practical command and control of Allied air operations,” he added.

 

"I welcome the involvement of our Partners in this important exercise,” said the Deputy Commander of Allied Air Command, Air Marshal Stu Evans. "It helps us share our conceptual ideas and experience with Partner air forces and allows them to develop closer cooperation in Allied missions,” he added.

 

Allied Air Command is responsible for the Air domain aspects of NATO’s Military Partnerships; a military partnership section within the Headquarters covers various projects in the fields of dialogue, practical cooperation, interoperability and defence reform.