NATO øvelse

 

Etienne Marcuz

@Etienne_Marcuz

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Oct 15

STEADFAST NOON 25 NATO's nuclear exercise - Fly day 2 The second day of flying for NATO’s annual nuclear exercise, STEADFAST NOON 25, seems to have just concluded (or at least part of it). Some aircraft were trackable on the

@ADSBex

platform. An interesting detail: the “Red Force” (the adversaries to NATO aircraft) was likely played by at least two L159 light combat aircraft from the private company DRAKEN. The main action took place off the coast of the Netherlands, with a no-fly zone (NOTAM) ~240 km, mainly over the Sea, defended by the L159s. The L159s were flying from Leeuwarden Air Base, which was likely the area the Red Team was tasked with defending. A NATO E-3A airborne early warning and control aircraft was operating near the border between Germany and Luxembourg, possibly coordinating the exercise. Two aerial refueling aircraft—a Royal Air Force Voyager and a USAF KC-135R—were flying racetrack patterns to the west of the exercise area, likely supporting NATO aircraft involved in the exercise. As a reminder, STEADFAST NOON 25 involves 71 aircraft from 14 NATO countries, but does NOT involve real nuclear weapons.