By Nigel Chamberlain, NATO Watch
Exercise Brilliant Arrow, the first of a series of exercises to test the skills and interoperability of the NATO Response Force (NRF), started on 25 August and will finish on 5 September. Approximately 50 military aircraft and 800 participants from France, Germany, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Turkey and the United Kingdom have been participating in the exercise based in Norway and conducted by NATO’s Allied Air Command HQ (HQ AIRCOM) at Ramstein Air Base, Germany.
In February 2013, NATO Defence Ministers endorsed plans to revitalise NATO's exercise programme to include more ambitious and frequent exercises, a broader range of scenarios, and a comprehensive training plan to cover the full range of possible Alliance missions up to 2020. Member States have been encouraged to open their national exercises to NATO participation to provide further opportunities to enhance Alliance interoperability.
General Breedlove, NATO’s Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR), said:
The NATO Response Force is a key-component of NATO’s collective defence capabilities. The NATO Response Force is also essential in maintaining and enhancing the ability of forces from across the Alliance to work together, which will be increasingly important as our mission in Afghanistan winds-down and we prepare to meet future challenges.
Personnel have been deployed from Ramstein to Oerland Main Air Station in Norway to support staff from other NATO command and control centres and Norwegian control staff. Exercise Director is Colonel Frank Gerards, of the Netherlands Air Force and from the HQ AIRCOM Operations Division. The senior Host Nation representative is Lieutenant Colonel Hans Jørgen Nordskog from the Norwegian Joint Headquarters.
Participating in the exercise are fast jet and support aircraft, including F-16, Tornado and Mirage 2000D fighters, two airborne warning and control system (AWACS) platforms, three transport aircraft, four helicopters and several other support aircraft. Ground-based air defence systems, Forward Air Controller teams and special jamming aircraft are also taking part. The main objectives for the participants from the ten Allied air forces' is to exercise deployment, reception and redeployment procedures of NRF air units into an out of a Deployed Operating Base and combined NRF tasks during air operations.
"Exercise Brilliant Arrow will hone the skills of allied air forces in orchestrating air operations”, said General Breedlove. "This level of capability and interoperability will be needed if the involved units are activated under the NATO Response Force.” He emphasised the importance of ensuring that air power remains ready and capable despite current economic uncertainties. He indicated that this will be critical to prepare for the future security environment that will require NATO’s airpower to adapt to the speed and unpredictability of strategic and technological developments.
Day-to-day reports from the exercises can be viewed on the Allied Command Operations website: http://www.aco.nato.int/exercise-brilliant-arrow-update.aspx