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NORTH ATLANTIC TREATY ORGANIZATION (NATO) AIRBORNE EARLY WARNING and CONTROL FORCE (AWACS) US CONTINGENT
The U.S. contributes personnel and expertise to the multinational NATO Airborne Early Warning and Control Force (NAEW&CF) AWACS program, which operates the fleet of E-3A aircraft. While the aircraft are collectively owned and operated by NATO, the U.S. Air Force, as a major member of NATO, provides a significant number of the personnel who operate these E-3A surveillance and command and control aircraft, as well as specialized support and training.
U.S. contributions to the NATO AWACS program
Personnel: The U.S. provides a large number of military personnel who serve as part of the multinational crews and support staff on the E-3A AWACS aircraft and at the various bases, notes NATO.
Leadership: The role of the E-3A Component Commander is held alternately by the U.S. Air Force and the German Air Force, underscoring the U.S. role in the program’s leadership.
Operational support: The U.S. has supported NATO’s AWACS operations in various ways, such as when NATO AWACS aircraft were requested to backfill U.S. national AWACS capabilities during counter-ISIS operations, according to this NATO page.
Historical context: The U.S. has a long history with the AWACS system, with the initial development and procurement of the E-3 Sentry aircraft occurring in the early 1970s under the direction of the U.S. Department of Defense, explains Air & Space Forces Magazine.
NATO AWACS general information.
Core mission: NATO’s AWACS fleet provides air surveillance, early warning, and command and control capabilities to the Alliance, notes this NATO page.
Fleet composition: The NATO AWACS fleet consists of 14 E-3A aircraft, which are owned and operated by NATO itself, not by individual member nations, according to this NATO page.
Primary base: The main headquarters for the NATO AWACS program is located at NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen in Germany.
Forward bases: The NAEW&CF program also maintains forward-operating bases in locations such as Konya (Türkiye), Aktion (Greece), Trapani (Italy), and Ørland (Norway).
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.