The Allied Airpower Podcast

Allied Airpower strengthens C-A2AD Capabilities under NATO eVA EASTERN SENTRY

Across these seven updates, NATO’s air and maritime activity in May 2026 points to a clear operational theme: the Alliance is strengthening its ability to operate as an integrated, distributed, and resilient force across multiple regions at once. From the Mediterranean to the Baltic, from Sweden and Finland to Norway and Greece, the focus is not only on presence, but on readiness, interoperability, Agile Combat Employment, ISR, air defence, and multi-domain integration. That theme was visible in Neptune Strike 2026 [https://ac.nato.int/archive/2026/neptune-strike-2026-a-premier-enhanced-vigilance-activity-eva-conducted-in-the-western-and-central-mediterranean-sea-.aspx], led by Naval Striking and Support Forces NATO across the Western and Central Mediterranean Sea. The activity brought together carrier strike groups, amphibious strike groups, land-based forces, air assets, and maritime forces to demonstrate NATO’s ability to project deterrence across the Alliance’s southern and south-eastern flanks. AIRCOM contributed through integrated air operations involving Royal Air Force Typhoon Eurofighters deployed to Romania and Romanian F-16s. Their work alongside forces from Albania, Bulgaria, France, Greece, Montenegro, Portugal, and Türkiye showed how routine assurance missions such as Eastern Sentry can connect directly to wider NATO readiness, reinforcing the idea that air policing, maritime strike, and multi-domain activity are increasingly part of one defensive framework. The same message carried into Lithuania, where around 100 French Air and Space Force aviators deployed to Šiauliai Air Base for NATO’s Baltic Air Policing 71 mission [https://ac.nato.int/archive/2026/french-rafales-supporting-nato-baltic-air-policing-mission-in-lithuania.aspx]. Flying four Rafales, the French detachment took over from Spain and joined Romanian and Portuguese F-16 detachments in safeguarding the Baltic states’ airspace. The mission combined operational readiness with Allied training, including air defence drills between French Rafales and Romanian F-16s over the Baltic Sea. The central point was interoperability: not only having compatible equipment, but understanding how other Allied crews think, communicate, maneuver, and respond under pressure. Sweden’s AURORA 26 [https://ac.nato.int/archive/2026/airpower-underpins-swedishled-exercise-aurora-26-.aspx] expanded that focus from air policing into national defence, reinforcement, and distributed operations. As Sweden’s first Aurora exercise as a NATO Ally, it brought about 18,000 participants from 13 countries together across Sweden, the Baltic Sea, and Gotland. Swedish JAS 39 Gripens, Dutch AH-64 Apache helicopters, air defence assets, airlift platforms, and air-ground integration all supported the wider joint scenario. A key airpower contribution came through Agile Combat Employment (ACE), with Swedish and Finnish personnel conducting aircraft cross-servicing on JAS 39 Gripens and F/A-18 Hornets at Kalmar civilian airport in Sweden. The exercise also included aeromedical evacuation training with Swedish, Finnish, Dutch, and U.S. teams, as well as counter-UAS training informed by Ukrainian drone experience. Together, these elements showed how NATO’s newer members and long-standing Allies are building practical readiness for dispersed, contested, and multi-domain operations. In Greece, NATO Tiger Meet 2026 [https://ac.nato.int/archive/2026/nato-allies-strengthen-interoperability-during-nato-tiger-meet-2026.aspx]focused on the human and tactical side of Allied air integration. Hosted by 335 Squadron of the Hellenic Air Force at Araxos Air Base, Greece, the exercise brought together aircrew, maintainers, and support personnel from Belgium, Czechia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Poland, Spain, and Switzerland. Aircraft included F-16 Fighting Falcons, Eurofighters, Gripens, Tornados, Hornets, Venom helicopters, and HH.101 helicopters. The exercise blended tradition with operational relevance, giving participating units a demanding multinational environment in which to refine tactics, build trust, and adapt to threats such as drones, missiles, and contested airspace. Its importance lies in the relationships it builds: Allied personnel who train together in peacetime are better prepared to operate together in crisis. Finland’s Imminent Field 26 showed Agile Combat Employment [https://ac.nato.int/archive/2026/finland-hosts-agile-combat-employmentfocused-exercise--imminent-field-26.aspx] (ACE) in especially concrete terms. Conducted from May 18 to 22 at the Jokioinen landing site on a closed stretch of Highway 2, the exercise trained Finnish F/A-18 Hornets and other aircraft to operate away from their home bases. For the first time, Italy brought F-35B Lightning II fighters to the exercise, using their short take-off and vertical landing capabilities to rehearse operations from austere and decentralized locations. The Finnish-Italian activity demonstrated how NATO air forces are preparing to disperse aircraft, personnel, and support infrastructure to complicate targeting, reduce vulnerability, and keep generating combat power if main bases are threatened. Norway then hosted a major ISR milestone with the first NISRF RQ-4D Phoenix [https://ac.nato.int/archive/2026/first-rq4d-phoenix-operations-in-norway-mark-nisrf-milestone.aspx]operations from Norwegian territory. On May 21, a NATO RQ-4D Phoenix remotely piloted aircraft arrived at Ørland, marking the first time the system had operated from Norway and only the third time it had operated outside Italian Air Force Base Sigonella. The deployment was tied to Agile Combat Employment and demonstrated NISRF’s ability to deliver ISR effects from dispersed locations in support of NATO operations. For an Alliance increasingly focused on wide-area awareness, rapid decision-making, and distributed operations, the ability to move high-end ISR platforms beyond their usual operating base is a significant step. Finally, the May 25 update on Eastern Sentry brought many of these themes together over the Baltic region. On May 21, Allied Airpower conducted a high-end training event focused on Multi-Domain Integration and Counter Anti-Access/Area Denial capabilities (C-A2AD). [https://ac.nato.int/archive/2026/allied-airpower-strengthens-ca2ad-capabilities-under-nato-eva-eastern-sentry-.aspx]Led by NATO CAOC Bodø in Norway as the key command-and-control node, the activity included Romanian F-16s, French Rafales and Mirage 2000D aircraft, French A330 MRTT tankers, and a NATO RQ-4D Global Hawk from NISRF. The training emphasized tactical command and control, rapid information sharing, and Find, Fix, Track, and Target (F2T2) processes. It also highlighted NATO’s shift from air policing toward a more flexible air defence posture along the eastern flank. Taken together, these stories show NATO Airpower operating across several layers at once. In the Mediterranean, Neptune Strike demonstrated maritime-air integration and Alliance-wide deterrence. In Lithuania, French Rafales reinforced the Baltic Air Policing mission while deepening tactical cooperation with Romania and Portugal. In Sweden and Finland, AURORA 26 and Imminent Field 26 tested dispersed operations, cross-servicing, airlift, counter-UAS lessons, and ACE in NATO’s northern Joint Operations Area (JOA). In Greece, NATO Tiger Meet strengthened the trust and habits that make multinational air operations work. In Norway, NISRF proved that NATO-owned ISR assets can operate more flexibly from dispersed locations. And under Eastern Sentry, Allied air forces practiced the kind of high-end, multi-domain air defence activity that connects all of these efforts into a wider deterrence posture. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit natoaircom.substack.com [https://natoaircom.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]

On Leadership and the Future of NATO's Combined Air Operations Centres — Interview with ESP Lt Gen Juan Pablo Sanchez De Lara

In this episode of The Allied Airpower Podcast, Jose “Houdini” Davis sits down with Lieutenant General Juan Pablo Sánchez de Lara, Commander of NATO’s Combined Air Operations Centre-Torrejón [https://ac.nato.int/about/caoc/torrejon/leadership/commander], during an in-person visit to Torrejón Air Base in Spain. CAOC Torrejón is one of NATO Allied Air Command’s key operational command and control nodes [https://ac.nato.int/about/caoc/torrejon], helping task, coordinate, and execute Allied air missions across peacetime, crisis, and conflict. For General Sánchez de Lara, that mission is deeply personal. A Spanish fighter pilot with more than 3,500 flying hours, his career has taken him from the F-5 and Mirage F-1, to NATO operations in Bosnia and Herzegovina, staff work at SHAPE, command of the Spanish Air Force Academy, the Canary Islands Air Command, and now command of one of NATO’s most important air operations centres. The conversation traces the evolution of NATO Airpower from Cold War-era air policing to today’s broader air defence challenge. General Sánchez de Lara explains that NATO must now be ready for a wider spectrum of threats — from traditional military aircraft to UAVs and one-way attack drones — while integrating capabilities across nations, domains, and command structures. That makes Eastern Sentry especially relevant. The episode frames NATO’s enhanced Vigilance Activity, Eastern Sentry, as part of a wider shift in posture and mindset: deterrence today depends on speed, integration, trust, and the ability to move from peacetime to crisis or conflict when required. A major theme throughout the discussion is integration. For General Sánchez de Lara, the first word in Integrated Air and Missile Defence is the most important one. Integration is not only about technology; it is about trained people, resilient systems, shared doctrine, national trust, and the ability to make timely decisions when time matters most. The episode wraps up with a more personal and human look at the General behind the command. From fighters to football, the conversation closes with an authentic exchange about Spain, family, what is ‘real’ football, and the friendly rivalries that make Allied relationships real. It is a reminder that NATO is built not only on capabilities and command structures, but also on trust, humor, and the relationships that make multinational service work. Recorded Tuesday, 21 April 2026. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit natoaircom.substack.com [https://natoaircom.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]

NATO Allied Air Command to conduct Exercise RAMSTEIN FLAG 2026 in June

Across these five updates, Allied Air Command’s spring 2026 message is clear: NATO is moving from a primarily reactive air policing posture toward a more integrated, distributed, and deliberately prepared air defence model. The emphasis is not on one isolated activity, but on how command leadership, multinational planning, training infrastructure, experimentation, and large-scale exercises all connect into a single defensive posture across the Euro-Atlantic area. That strategic direction was most explicit at the first NATO Air Chiefs’ Symposium of 2026, hosted by Allied Air Command in Ramstein [https://ac.nato.int/archive/2026/allied-air-command-hosts-first-nato-air-chiefs-symposium-of-2026]. Built around the theme “Operationalizing the Shift to Air Defence,” the symposium brought together Air Chiefs and senior representatives from 27 NATO nations and 5 partner nations to align national contributions, refine strategy, and discuss how air and space power must evolve for a more contested environment. The discussion centered on command and control, Integrated Air and Missile Defence, the reinforcement of the eastern flank through Eastern Sentry, and the role of Agile Combat Employment in resilience and sustainment. The core takeaway was that NATO’s air enterprise is not standing still; it is adapting its posture, its command arrangements, and its force employment model to meet a higher-threat battlespace. That shift from strategy to execution was visible in the first Flexible Deterrent Options led by CAOC Bodø under Eastern Sentry activities. [https://ac.nato.int/archive/2026/caoc-bodoe-leads-first-fdos-to-enhance-multidomain-integration-and-allied-readiness-under-eastern-sentry-activities-] Working with CAOC Uedem, the Norwegian-based command helped direct three consecutive operations across the Alliance’s northern and Baltic regions, including a major mission in Finnish airspace focused on degrading anti-access and area-denial threats and securing air superiority. French, Swedish, Finnish, Portuguese, Estonian, Romanian, Czech, and NATO assets all featured across the different iterations, alongside tankers, command-and-reporting centres, airborne early warning, and surface-based air defence. What stands out here is not just the number of nations involved, but the type of integration being exercised: multinational, multi-domain operations designed to prove that Allied forces can scale quickly, share the burden, and function as a unified defensive system under pressure. The same logic runs through the Romania counter-drone event conducted in support of Eastern Sentry. [https://ac.nato.int/archive/2026/nato-allies-test-layered-counterdrone-defences-in-romania-in-support-of-eastern-sentry-]Hosted at the Capu Midia Training Range in Romania during Exercise Eastern Phoenix 26, the activity tested how layered counter-uncrewed aerial system defences can be built from a mix of sensors, command-and-control networks, electronic warfare tools, and kinetic and non-kinetic effectors. Romania hosted the event in cooperation with NATO Allied Command Transformation. Ukrainian expertise also helped participants measure performance against current battlefield realities rather than idealized scenarios. This matters because low-cost drones and one-way attack systems are no longer peripheral threats; they are central to the modern air defence problem. The event showed NATO trying to shorten the path from technical demonstration to operational usefulness, while connecting experimentation directly to the wider air and missile defence architecture on the eastern flank. At the institutional level, the 100th Initial Functional Joint Force Air Component Training course at Poggio Renatico [https://ac.nato.int/archive/2026/nato100th-air-command-training-course-marks-historic-milestone-at-daccc-in-italy-2] shows the longer-term foundation beneath these operational developments. Hosted by the Deployable Air Command and Control Centre in Italy, the course marked more than a symbolic milestone. It reflects over 3,000 NATO officers and non-commissioned officers trained at a single location to operate inside a Joint Force Air Component structure. With participants from 15 nations and representation from Combined Air Operations Centres and national force elements, the course illustrates how NATO’s command-and-control culture is built: common language, common procedures, and a common operational mindset. That kind of institutional preparation is essential if multinational air operations are expected to function seamlessly in crisis or conflict. Ramstein Flag 2026 [https://ac.nato.int/archive/2026/nato-allied-air-command-to-conduct-exercise-ramstein-flag-2026-in-june] then ties these threads together at scale. Scheduled for June 8 to June 19 and led independently by NATO Allied Air Command for the first time, the exercise stretches from Norway to Spain and combines live-fly activity with synthetic training across NATO’s northern and southern Joint Operations Areas. Its priorities: Counter Anti-Access/Area Denial, Integrated Air and Missile Defence, Agile Combat Employment, and improved information sharing. These priorities mirror the themes seen across the other updates. Hosted primarily by Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden, and Spain, and involving 19 nations, more than 150 aircraft, and roughly 150 sorties per day, Ramstein Flag is designed to test NATO’s ability to coordinate distributed air operations in realistic, high-end scenarios. It is not just an exercise for pilots; it is a rehearsal for how the Alliance would synchronize command and control, integrate across domains, and operate under contested conditions. Taken together, these stories show NATO’s Air & Space power working on several levels at once. Senior leaders are aligning strategy around a more robust air defence posture. Operational headquarters are testing how that posture works in practice across the eastern flank. Experimentation events are accelerating responses to emerging threats such as drones. Training institutions are producing the personnel needed to run multinational air operations. And major exercises are connecting all of that into a broader rehearsal of deterrence and collective defence. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit natoaircom.substack.com [https://natoaircom.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]

The Trust Behind NATO Airpower — Interview with ITA Admiral Giuseppe Cavo Dragone

In this episode of The Allied Airpower Podcast, Kea Alishia Phlatts sits down with Admiral Giuseppe Cavo Dragone, Chair of the NATO Military Committee, during his visit to Allied Air Command at Ramstein, 25-26 March 2026 [https://ac.nato.int/archive/2026/nato-military-committee-highlights-air-and-space-power-during-allied-air-command-visit]. As NATO’s senior military officer and principal military adviser to the Secretary General, Admiral Dragone [https://www.nato.int/en/about-us/organization/who-we-are/chairs-of-the-military-committee/admiral-giuseppe-cavo-dragone] sits at the center of the Alliance’s military decision-shaping process, helping translate the collective judgment of thirty-two Chiefs of Defence into advice for NATO’s political leadership. It is a role that demands perspective, and Admiral Dragone brings plenty of it. Over the course of nearly five decades in uniform, he has served as a helicopter pilot, jet pilot, ship commander, special forces leader, joint commander, Chief of the Italian Navy, and Chief of Defence before assuming NATO’s top military post. In this conversation, he reflects on how those assignments shaped his understanding of leadership: the need to make decisions under pressure, the burden of command when others look to you for direction, and the reality that no service and no nation succeeds alone anymore. A major theme throughout the episode is trust. Not as a slogan, but as a military necessity. Admiral Dragone describes trust as the essential ingredient that allows Allied nations to operate as one: trusting that capabilities will integrate, that commitments will hold, and that when one nation is exposed, the others will step forward. That idea runs through his reflections on jointness, coalition warfare, and the practical demands of holding an Alliance together across domains, services, and national perspectives. The episode also offers a clear view of how he thinks about NATO airpower today. Effective airpower, he argues, is no longer just about aircraft and sorties. It is an integrated enterprise built on intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance, command and control, readiness, logistics, sustainment, missile defence, and the ability to connect those capabilities across the air, land, and maritime domains. In other words, modern Allied airpower is not simply about what flies. It is about what connects, what endures, and what can respond fast enough to matter. That makes his discussion of Eastern Sentry especially timely. Speaking about NATO’s enhanced Vigilance Activity along the eastern flank, Admiral Dragone frames it as both reassurance and deterrence: reassurance to Allies that the Alliance is alert, adaptive, and united, and a warning to potential adversaries that NATO can move quickly, integrate rapidly, and defend its populations without hesitation. His message is straightforward: readiness matters, speed matters, integration matters — but none of it works without trust. This episode is ultimately about more than one senior leader’s career. It is about how Alliance warfare actually holds together at the highest level: through shared values, collective responsibility, and the confidence that thirty-two nations can act together when the moment demands it. Recorded Thursday, 26 March 2026. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit natoaircom.substack.com [https://natoaircom.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]

German Eurofighters hand over NATO's Enhanced Air Policing Mission in Romania to the Royal Air Force

Across these nine updates, NATO’s air enterprise is doing three things at once: sharpening high-end combat skills, tightening Integrated Air and Missile Defence (IAMD) on the eastern flank, and cycling Allied detachments through Baltic and Black Sea operating locations to keep a persistent, credible air policing posture in place. We start in the United Kingdom with Cobra Warrior 2026-1, the Royal Air Force’s premier tactical air training event. [https://ac.nato.int/archive/2026/nato-allies-demonstrate-deterrence-and-assurance-during-exercise-cobra-warrior-261] The exercise is designed to push aircrews through complex, high-end warfighting scenarios and culminates months of preparation aimed at keeping Allied air forces integrated, adaptable, and ready. The focus is composite air operations: joint mission planning, tactical execution, and the synchronization of tactics, techniques, and procedures against a peer-competitor threat. Cobra Warrior also doubles as a leadership pipeline, producing mission commanders and functional team leaders able to direct coalition air operations in a resilient, decentralized command environment. That emphasis on integration and readiness carries into Ramstein, where Admiral Giuseppe Cavo Dragone and the NATO Military Committee visited Allied Air Command on March 25–26, 2026. [https://ac.nato.int/archive/2026/nato-military-committee-highlights-air-and-space-power-during-allied-air-command-visit] The visit underscored the strategic importance of Allied air and space power in maintaining deterrence and defence, with a clear theme: trust, cohesion, and reliability among Allies are not “nice-to-haves,” but core strategic assets. The discussions highlighted how NATO secures its airspace—particularly along the eastern flank—through an integrated air and missile defence framework that combines air policing, ballistic missile defence, and vigilance activities such as Eastern Sentry, supported by continuous intelligence and information sharing and effective command and control across the Alliance. From there, the story shifts to the operational reality of deterrence and assurance: rotational deployments that keep NATO’s defensive posture visible and responsive from the Baltic Sea to the Black Sea. Over Lithuania, Romania assumed air policing duties from Šiauliai Air Base [https://ac.nato.int/archive/2026/the-romanian-air-force-assume-natos-air-policing-mission-in-Siauliai--lithuania], deploying F-16s and roughly 100 personnel as part of Eastern Sentry. This marks Romania’s fourth contribution to Baltic air policing from Lithuania, and the rotation is strengthened by a parallel French Rafale presence operating from the same base [https://ac.nato.int/archive/2026/french-rafales-deploy-to-lithuania-for-nato-BAP-2]. Two detachments, two aircraft types, one mission—continuous monitoring and the ability to intercept aircraft approaching NATO territory when required. France’s own deployment — four Rafales to Šiauliai — took the lead for NATO’s Baltic Air Policing mission as Spain rotated out [https://ac.nato.int/archive/2026/test]. It also marked France’s ninth rotation in Lithuania, with additional deployments to Ämari, Estonia reinforcing a consistent pattern: the Alliance sustains air defence through routine, interoperable, multinational detachments that can plug into the same command-and-control architecture on day one. Estonia saw the same continuity from a different angle. Portugal deployed F-16s to Ämari Air Base to assume Baltic air policing [https://ac.nato.int/archive/2026/portuguese-f16s-take-over-nato-air-policing-mission-in-amari--estonia] responsibilities from Italy, keeping fighters on quick reaction alert under the Combined Air Operations Centre in Uedem, Germany. The Portuguese rotation included four aircraft and up to 95 personnel and marked Portugal’s ninth participation in NATO air policing overall—its second time conducting the mission from Ämari after earlier deployments to Šiauliai. The handovers matter because they demonstrate what NATO’s air policing model is built to do: sustain uninterrupted coverage, absorb transitions cleanly, and maintain readiness at speed. Italy’s concluding rotation in Estonia is a good example. [https://ac.nato.int/archive/2026/italian-eurofighters-conclude-nato-air-policing-mission-in-estonia-following-consecutive-deployments]After two consecutive deployments at Ämari, Italian Eurofighters handed over to Portugal, closing out a demanding stretch that included continuous quick reaction alert, more than 1,300 flying hours, multinational training, air-to-air missions alongside multiple Allies, and activities designed to validate procedures against emerging threats. Spain’s conclusion in Lithuania followed a similar pattern. After two consecutive rotations at Šiauliai, Spanish F-18M Hornets logged more than 900 flying hours and conducted more than 25 “Alpha Scrambles” in response to unidentified aircraft approaching NATO airspace. The detachment also took part in multiple multinational exercises and executed Agile Combat Employment activities, including cross-servicing with the Lithuanian Air Force: practical, hands-on steps that expand operational flexibility and help sustain dispersed operations. Spain also contributed counter-unmanned aircraft systems protection at Šiauliai and supported air-to-air refuelling with A400M aircraft, reinforcing interoperability and readiness across the region. In the Black Sea region, Romania’s south-eastern air defence mission saw two major transitions. First, Germany concluded two consecutive rotations at Mihail Kogălniceanu Air Base [https://ac.nato.int/archive/2026/german-eurofighters-hand-over-natos-enhanced-air-policing-mission-in-romania-to-the-royal-air-force-], having been deployed since summer 2025. German Eurofighters accumulated more than 600 flying hours and flew over 470 sorties, including more than 25 Alpha Scrambles — maintaining a persistent, responsive presence close to a strategically sensitive air approach. Germany also conducted flexible deterrence options under Eastern Sentry and routinely operated alongside Romanian F-16s, building interoperability in the day-to-day rhythm of real-world vigilance. Then the Royal Air Force deployed Eurofighter Typhoons to Borcea Air Base to take over the enhanced air policing mission [https://ac.nato.int/archive/2026/raf-eurofighters-deploy-to-romania-for-nato-air-policing-under-eastern-sentry-] from the outgoing German detachment for the next four months. The deployment—supported by around 200 personnel—paired British quick reaction alert duties with Romanian Air Force cooperation and highlighted Agile Combat Employment in practice: operating from an alternative Romanian location and integrating mission execution through close coordination with NATO’s air command-and-control architecture. The result is a flexible, scalable posture designed to adjust rapidly to shifts in the security environment while keeping air policing continuous. Taken together, these stories show NATO’s air mission in full motion: high-end tactical training that builds mission command and coalition proficiency; senior-level focus on air and space power as strategic enablers of deterrence; and a steady cadence of rotations that keeps fighters, enablers, and command-and-control networks aligned across the Baltic and Black Sea regions. The throughline is consistent: readiness, interoperability, and the ability to sustain persistent defensive coverage across the eastern flank. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit natoaircom.substack.com [https://natoaircom.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]