In support of these efforts, an Italian Conformal Airborne Early Warning (CAEW) aircraft was also recently controlled by NATO to provide airborne surveillance, command, control and communications in the region, as part of a concerted NATO enhanced Vigilance Activity (eVA) to assure Allies and enhance readiness.  

which allows us to direct our critical air assets at the moment of most need

The activities of the Italian aircraft in the region also demonstrates NATO’s interoperability and its swift ability to integrate with maritime assets, staging effective and cohesive multi-domain sensors anywhere and everywhere on NATO territory. Multi-domain sensors allow the Alliance to have a complete and comprehensive Command and Control (C2) picture.

“There’s no point in having great capability – fighters, air defence missile systems, radars and munitions – if you’re unable to ensure they’re employed effectively,” said General James Hecker, AIRCOM Commander. “This requires an appropriately designed Air Command and Control systems approach, which allows us to direct our critical air assets at the moment of most need,” General Hecker added. 

AIRCOM provides scoped and effective air detection capabilities for the Alliance, integrating assets with NATO maritime and land assets. Robust multi-domain sensors allow the Alliance to have an accurate air picture, which provides AIRCOM, the Baltic States, and Poland situational awareness to identify and report any possible air incursions or violations.