UEDEM, Germany – The Combined Air Operations Centre (CAOC) at Uedem conducted two flights across its area of responsibility in April hone relationships with NATO Control and Reporting Centres (CRCs) that are indispensable for the mission of preserving NATO member nations’ territorial integrity and airspace security.
Especially in today's geopolitical security context where tensions are high, knowing each other’s possibilities and challenges is important
“We typically invite staff from the CRCs for coordination meetings to come to Uedem on a regular basis. These meetings are important as it allows better insight into each other’s capabilities and challenges,” said Major General Harold van Pee, Commander of CAOC Uedem.
“Thanks to Belgium’s generous support, we were able to organise two flights for some of the staff on an A330 Multi Role Tanker Transport (MRTT) aircraft,” explained General van Pee. The plane took off from Eindhoven on a roundtrip via Kaunas, Lithuania, Rovaniemi, Finland, Bardufoss, Norway, and Keflavik Iceland. En route, the A330 was the target for several intercept manoeuvres by Allied Air Policing fighter jets. This meant planning, preparation and coordination but also currency training for the operators back home in Uedem and in the CRCs as well as the MRTT crews and of course the fighter bases.
On a round trip from the Netherlands across its area of responsibility, the Commander and staff of NATO's Northern Combined Air Operations Centre met their Lithuanian, Finnish, Norwegian and Icelandic counterparts to coordinate how they organise their daily mission to keep the airspace of NATO Allies safe and secure and support Alliance deterrence and defence activities. Photos courtesy Combined Air Operations Centre Uedem.
Taking off from Eindhoven, the first stop was at Kaunas, Lithuania. In the past, Air Battle Managers from Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia cooperated in one Baltic CRC. Nowadays, each nation has their own CRC that work hand in glove with the staff at Uedem first and foremost when it comes to NATO’s Baltic Air Policing mission with alternating Allied fighter detachments.
On the way to Rovaniemi Air Base, the A330 was intercepted by Lapland Air Wing's F/A-18 Hornet fighters that protect Finland’s 1,300 km border. One of the primary peacetime missions of Finland's air defence is air surveillance. In Lapland Air Wing, this effort is directed from the 5th CRC with subordinated radar stations located across the air wing's air defence area providing an Air Command and Control system ready to be fully integrated into NATO.
Touching down at Bardufoss in Norway, the team visited CRC Sørreisa, a huge bunker facility with an immense operations room. As Norway is offering to host a Nordic CAOC at an undisclosed location in the foreseeable future, coordination with CAOC Uedem stakeholders will be key to share responsibilities in a flexible and efficient way to meet new standards, tactics, techniques and procedures across the Nordic skies.
The last stop was at Keflavik, where the Icelandic Coast Guard operates NATO CRC Loki. CAOC Uedem is closely working with this CRC to plan, prepare, coordinate and control regular NATO fighter detachments that provide Airborne Surveillance and Interception Capabilities to meet Iceland's Peacetime Preparedness Needs (ASIC IPPN). With merely 60 people, the Icelandic Coast Guard covers Air Surveillance with its four radar sites, but also maintains an impeccable status of Keflavik Air Base able to host various types of aircraft in support Allied deployments.
“Besides invaluable face-to-face contacts and coordination, these two flights enabled those on my staff who normally don’t get to know our 24/7 mission on a daily basis to see first-hand what preserving NATO territorial integrity requires,” summarized Major General van Pee. “Especially today – in the geopolitical security context where tensions are high – knowing each other’s possibilities and challenges is important,” he added.