CAOC Torrejón and its Southeastern CRCs executed Exercise TORREJÓN ARCHER on March 17, 2021. The aim of the exercise is to train and enhance integration of CAOC Torrejón’ Static Air Defence Centre with all Southern Region CRCs in Air Policing scenarios with a secondary aim to balance experience across crews inside the Static Air Defence Centre. 

We practice to improve our procedures to better accomplish our Air Policing mission for protecting the NATO Airspace

Simulated scenarios were prepared for the exercise, such as a lost link with an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle or a bomb threat or a hi-jacked aircraft to practice and challenge the staff’s capabilities to conduct simultaneous Air Policing operations within CAOC Torrejón’s Area of Functional Responsibility. 

“All these synthetic events have been perfectly managed; each event triggered different reactions and procedures of cooperation among the CAOC and the CRCs,” said Lieutenant General Fernando de la Cruz, Commander CAOC Torrejón. “We practice the coordination and the flow of information among Allies to improve our procedures in order to better accomplish our Air Policing mission for protecting the NATO Airspace,” he added. 

Since 2017, the Torrejón ARCHER exercise series has been comprised of four individual events. Designed as an annual synthetic air event it aims at implementing established peacetime Air Policing procedures within the various regions of CAOC Torrejón Air Policing Area extending south of the Alps.

CAOC Torrejón is located northeast of Madrid, Spain; together with its sister CAOC at Uedem, Germany, its primary mission is to assure 24/7 air space security by conducting Air Policing missions in a collective effort with all Allies.