The Atlantic Alliance in the air
NATO’s state of readiness in the air domain is at one of the highest levels in the history of the Alliance. Due to superb planning by member nations over the previous decade, NATO is well postured to continue as the Alliance’s premier “shield and sword.” One of the simplest explanations for this high state of readiness is that pilots and crews in the various Alliance air forces are integrated from day one of training and continue to train together for years and throughout careers. In addition, the nations have invested heavily in fifth-generation technology—mainly the F-35 joint strike fighter—much of which is now fielded across the Alliance with increasing capabilities over the coming decade. All of these activities are comprehensive in nature and align with the supreme allied commander Europe (SACEUR) Concept of Deterrence and Defence of the Euro-Atlantic Area (DDA).
Threats to the NATO air domain stem primarily from Russian conventional missile and drone strikes, as well as gray-zone hybrid warfare, particularly along the eastern flank. These include salvo attacks from hypersonic and ballistic missiles, Global Positioning System (GPS) and electronic interference in commercial and military airspace, and space-based attacks on early warning networks.
Additionally, the threat to NATO’s southeastern flank has risen sharply in the past few months. Iran has launched multiple ballistic missile and drone attacks on NATO territory, all of which the Alliance has expertly parried.
To counter these threats, the Alliance relies on its Integrated Air and Missile Defense (IAMD) program. The nations have invested heavily in the program over the last decade, and it is now bearing fruit. The NATO IAMD mission is a continuous, twenty-four seven collective defense effort to safeguard Alliance territory, populations, and forces against all air and missile threats. It employs a 360-degree approach to detect and counter threats from all strategic directions, ranging from micro-drones to hypersonic missiles. It is implemented through the NATO Integrated Air and Missile Defense System, which connects national and NATO sensors, command and control (C2) facilities, and weapons systems. The system is layered, strictly defensive in nature, and designed to deter attacks and neutralize missiles fired from outside the Euro-Atlantic area. Ballistic missile defense (BMD) is coupled with air policing, a peacetime mission in which fighter jets intercept aircraft that do not follow international flight regulations or pose a threat to civilian airspace.
Earlier this year, NATO air defenses successfully operated against a real-world threat. Defensive operations were carried out by Alliance assets in the Eastern Mediterranean and over Turkish airspace, safeguarding member borders without causing any casualties on the ground. NATO reported neutralizing incoming ballistic missiles rom Iran in early March, with events occurring on March 4, March 9, March 13, and March 30. Western officials indicated that some of these Iranian missiles appeared to be aimed at the Incirlik Air Base in Turkey’s southern Adana province, where NATO personnel operate.
To counter Russia, NATO has significantly fortified the air domain of its eastern flank, deploying approximately 130 combat aircraft and launching the multi-domain Operation Eastern Sentry. This initiative brings in advanced assets from allied nations to patrol, enforce airspace integrity, and intercept Russian drones and jets testing the Alliance’s borders. In addition, the Alliance is rotating modern air defense systems (such as the National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System (NASAMS) and infrared imaging system tail (IRIS-T)) to the eastern border and deploying them to safeguard critical logistics hubs like Rzeszów Airport in Poland.
Eastern Sentry was launched in response to aggressive Russian drone incursions into Polish airspace. It actively deploys fighter aircraft (including F-16s, F-35s, Rafales, and Eurofighters) and ground-based air defense systems. The mission pools resources from multiple nations including France, Germany, and the United Kingdom to bolster security along the Baltic states, Poland, and Romania. NATO has expanded its permanent peacetime air policing mission, maintaining a continuous presence of fighters and crews to quickly scramble and intercept unidentified aircraft that breach allied skies.
The aircraft leading NATO’s current response to both Russia and Iran is the F-35, considered the gold standard in fifth-generation fighter aircraft. To date, more than half of Alliance nations have invested in and agreed to purchase F-35 and multiple nations are already using the aircraft in current missions.
But the key to Alliance air forces is the people, not the aircraft. NATO airmen train together from day one and continue to exercise jointly throughout their entire careers. Member countries started pooling resources to train young pilots nearly fifty years ago in a program that became the Euro–NATO Joint Jet Pilot Training Program (ENJJPT), conducted by the 80th Flying Training Wing at Sheppard Air Force Base in Texas. ENJJPT is the world’s only multi-nationally manned and managed flying training program chartered to produce combat pilots for NATO. In addition, NATO nations regularly participate in Red Flag, Ramstein Flag, and other exercises simulating wartime mobilization and combat operations. For NATO air forces, joint interoperability is the rule, not the exception.
In addition to IAMD and air policing, perhaps NATO’s highest-priority mission dates back to the Alliance’s earliest days—the nuclear mission. NATO is, and always has been, a nuclear-capable alliance. The nuclear mission is the Alliance’s core collective defense strategy to preserve peace, deter aggression, and prevent coercion. It relies on a nuclear sharing arrangement in which the United States forward deploys a portion of its nuclear weapons to Europe, while participating allied nations provide support, infrastructure, and dual-capable aircraft to provide support to nuclear deterrence in a crisis. Three NATO members have independent nuclear arsenals, while five additional members share custodial duties. Alliance dual-capable aircraft (DCA) maintain and operate this critical mission, transitioning from DCA legacy F-16s to the F-35. Other nations burden share by providing conventional support for nuclear operations (CSNO), previously known as support of nuclear operations with conventional air tactics (SNOWCAT). These countries provide non-nuclear conventional air support and assistance during nuclear missions.
To augment the core missions of IAMD, air policing, and nuclear operations, NATO also possesses its own organic capability to provide C2 via the NATO airborne warning and control system (AWACS) and intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) through the NATO Alliance Ground Surveillance (AGS) Force.
The NATO AGS force is a state-of-the-art, collectively owned and operated airborne radar system. Designed to provide persistent all-weather terrestrial and maritime surveillance, it provides vital intelligence for border control, crisis management, and the protection of ground troops. The system utilizes a fleet of five high-altitude, long-endurance (HALE) RQ-4D “Phoenix” remotely piloted aircraft (adapted from the US Air Force Global Hawk Block 40). These uncrewed aircraft can fly for up to thirty hours at a time, carrying advanced radar sensors to track moving objects and capture imagery day or night, regardless of weather conditions.
Meanwhile, NATO AWACS is the Alliance’s integrated “eyes in the sky.” Headquartered in Geilenkirchen, Germany, the multinational unit operates a fleet of Boeing E-3A Sentry aircraft—modified jets featuring rotating radar domes that provide 360-degree, all-weather surveillance and command capabilities. The rotating rotodome detects, tracks, and identifies hostile aircraft at low and high altitudes, as well as maritime vessels at ranges exceeding five hundred kilometers. The system acts as a flying command post, enabling near real-time data transmission directly to allied units on land, at sea, or in the air. An E-3A mission crew consists of fifteen to thirty-three international military personnel drawn from up to nineteen different allies.
In the last few years, NATO has also expanded into space, making it truly an air- and space-capable Alliance. In late 2025, the Alliance Persistent Space Surveillance (APSS) program reached Initial Operating Capability (IOC). APSS is a flagship NATO initiative designed to provide persistent surveillance from space in support of Alliance missions, operations, and strategic decision-making. Built on a unique “one NATO” approach, the program brings together the NATO Communications and Information Agency (NCIA), Allied Command Operations (ACO), and NATO Headquarters to deliver a fully integrated space-based ISR capability.
Under this construct, NCIA provides the program management, technical leadership, digital infrastructure, data integration, and user interface; ACO ensures operational implementation; and NATO Headquarters offers policy direction, governance, a link to the NATO nations, and coherence and integration into the NATO Intelligence Enterprise (NIE). This close cooperation enabled the APSS program to progress from an initial concept to a fully operational multinational capability in just three years, ahead of schedule.
Launched in late 2022, with early leadership and funding from Luxembourg, the initiative rapidly gained momentum as eighteen allied nations committed to building the APSS virtual constellation “Aquila.” Throughout 2023 and 2024, NATO established the structures, agreements, and operational mechanisms needed to integrate space-based ISR into the wider Alliance enterprise, including major national contributions and the program’s first commercial contracts. The NATO goal is to unite national space contributions and commercial providers into a coordinated and coherent capability.
In conclusion, NATO’s focus on innovation, interoperability, and combat readiness has raised its capabilities in the air domain to an all-time high, and the result is strong positioning for further progress in the coming decades. This is a domain wherein the Alliance retains a clear edge against potential threats. Wise prior leadership, planning, and investment by the nations over the past decades and visionary current leadership have NATO air power positioned to continue as the Alliance’s premier “shield and sword.”
Tod D. Wolters is a distinguished fellow with the Atlantic Council’s Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security. He consults with Jones Group International and Northrop Grumman. In 2022, Wolters completed a distinguished forty-year active-duty career in the US Air Force (USAF) as the supreme allied commander Europe (SACEUR) and commander US European command (EUCOM).
Phillip Stewart is the chief operating officer at Jones Group Europe. He previously served as the first commanding general of the NATO Alliance Ground Surveillance Force.
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Image: A fighter jet over Nellis Air Force Base. Photo by Tyler Hardie via Unsplash