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, 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. 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 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 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 (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 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). 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.

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