“I’d like to welcome our great Partners from across the world and to underline the importance of our relationships,” said General Harrigian opening the virtual meeting with senior officers from NATO’s Partner Air Forces from across a wide range of time zones. “I look forward to getting your insight on the challenges as we work towards our common goal of security and stability,” he added.

We look forward to gaining a shared understanding of the strategic environment and gain alignment in areas where we can collectively work together to combat threats

“We look forward to gaining a shared understanding of the strategic environment, considering the impacts to our nations and gaining alignment in areas where we can collectively work together to combat threats,” he said providing his view of the strategic context.

The one-day online virtual meeting replaced the in-person conference usually held at Ramstein every other year. This year, the participants took a closer look at asymmetric threats in the air environment and all Partners offered their contribution and experience on the topic. Allied Air Command subject matter experts set the floor for discussions with an introduction into global asymmetric threats and concepts to counter unmanned aerial system operations.

Representatives from NATO Headquarters, Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe and Allied Air Command gave an overview of the opportunities the Alliance has to offer in the fields of training and Joint Terminal Attack Controller standardization. These offers are available to Partner Air Force and assist them in aligning their capabilities to train and operate alongside the Alliance.
General Harrigian and his team were also eager to take a look at Partner Air Force’s perspectives. Individual Partners presented the role of their Air Forces in counter-terrorism activities and counter-drone operations, which enabled an informed exchange of views.
The participating members from Algeria, Australia, Azerbaijan, Bahrein, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Colombia, Egypt, Finland, Georgia, Ireland, Japan, Jordan, Moldova, Mongolia, Republic of Korea, Sweden, Switzerland, Tunisia, Ukraine and Uzbekistan are affiliated to the Alliance in the Euro-Atlantic Partnership, the Partnership for Peace programme, the Mediterranean Dialogue, the Istanbul Cooperation Initiative and Partners across the globe. In the air domain, Allied Air Command’s Military Partnership Branch conducts information, training and evaluation events towards enduring and trust-based cooperation in the security environment.
NATO’s Partnership programmes are designed to institutionalise relations with non-member countries worldwide and seek to foster security, stability and democratic transformation across the Euro-Atlantic area by engaging in partnership through dialogue and cooperation.