Description
Computer made/mounted on velcro 4.0 inch-100mm
NORTH ATLANTIC TREATY ORGANIZATION AWACS E-3A COMPONENT
The E-3A Component is one of the two operational units of the NATO Airborne Early Warning & Control Force (NAEW&C Force). It holds a unique place in military history because it was the first multinational flying unit established by the Alliance. Its mission is to perform all surveillance and battle management tasks ordered by the NAEW&C Force Commander on behalf of the SACEUR.
The post of E-3A Component Commander in the rank of brigadier general is held alternately by the US Air Force and the German Air Force. The Deputy Commander is always a colonel of the Netherlands Air Force. The structure of the E-3A Component comprises three wings: Operations, Logistics and Base Support, as well as the Forward Operating Bases and one Forward Operating Location. Each wing is headed by a colonel from a specific nation participating in the NAEW&C Force program.
Around twenty multinational crews from 15 of the 28 NATO member nations are assigned to the E-3A Component’s two operational squadrons. The E-3A Component has a multinational workforce of around 1400 military and civilian personnel.
NORTH ATLANTIC TREATY ORGANIZATION (NATO)
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 31 member states, 29 European and 2 North American.
Established in the aftermath of World War II, the organization implemented the North Atlantic Treaty, signed in Washington, DC on 4 Apr 1949. NATO is a collective security system: its independent member states agree to defend each other against attacks by third parties. During the Cold War, NATO operated as a check on the threat posed by the Soviet Union. The alliance remained in place after the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the Warsaw Pact, and has been involved in military operations in the Balkans, the Middle East, South Asia, and Africa. The organization’s motto is animus in consulendo liber (Latin for “a mind unfettered in deliberation”).
NATO’s main headquarters are located in Brussels, Belgium, while NATO’s military headquarters are near Mons, Belgium. The alliance has targeted its NATO Response Force deployments in Eastern Europe, and the combined militaries of all NATO members include around 3.5 million soldiers and personnel. Their combined military spending as of 2022 constituted around 55 percent of the global nominal total. Moreover, members have agreed to reach or maintain the target defence spending of at least two percent of their GDP by 2024.
NATO formed with twelve founding members and has added new members nine times, most recently when Finland joined the alliance on 4 Apr 2023, exactly 74 years after NATO’s formation. Following the acceptance of its application for membership in June 2022, Sweden is anticipated to become the 32nd member, with its Accession Protocol to the North Atlantic Treaty now in the process of being ratified by the existing members. In addition, NATO currently recognizes Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, and Ukraine as aspiring members. Enlargement has led to tensions with non-member Russia, one of the twenty additional countries participating in NATO’s Partnership for Peace program. Another 19 countries are involved in institutionalized dialogue programs with NATO.