Home  /  Newsroom  /  2021  /  NATO Tiger Squadrons converge in Portugal

Ramstein, Germany - Around 3000 military personnel and 57 aircraft will converge on Beja Air Base, Portugal to practice their flying skills during this year’s NATO Tiger Meet from May 2 – 14. 

The event, this year organised by the Portuguese Air Force, will be one of the largest international exercises ever held in Portugal. It will be attended by nine fighter and helicopter squadrons from eight nations including Portugal, Greece, Italy, Netherlands, Poland, Spain, France and the USA alongside NATO Partner Switzerland. They will also be supported by a NATO E-3A AWACS.

The focus of this two-week exercise will be to practice day and night operations in a multi domain environment, against a robust airborne and ground and sea based threat. This is a great opportunity for valuable integration and interoperability between NATO nations and Partnership for Peace members, and to share lessons learned.

NATO Tigers at previous Tiger Meets including French Rafale, Belgian F-16 and NATO Partner Switzerland F/A-18. Photos courtesy of Nicola Carradossi and Allied Air Command archive.

The NATO Tiger Meet is a tactical-level live-fly event that has existed since 1961. The overarching framework is provided by the NATO Tiger Association and the individual meets are organised by the hosting squadron – this year the Portuguese 301 “Jaguares" Squadron at  Beja Air Base. Whilst not related to any NATO headquarters, the NATO Tiger Meet provides unique squadron-level training and enhances professionalism and good airmanship across NATO and Partner air forces.