The Royal Norwegian Air Force fighter detachment completed the second deployment of the F-35 fighter aircraft to carry out the NATO Air Policing mission in Iceland.
For four weeks, the deployment's personnel worked with the Icelandic Coast Guard at Keflavik Air Base, Iceland, and with NATO's Combined Air Operations Center in Uedem, , to protect Allied airspace in the Far North.
“We gained very useful experience related to handover of the F-35 weapon system with the implementation of operations and maintenance of Rapid Reaction Alert from an external base over time”, said Lieutenant Colonel Tron Strand, Detachment Commander of NATO's Air Policing Mission in Iceland.
For Rapid Reaction Alert operations, the F-35 performs this function in exactly the same way as the F-16 Norway has used it up until now; however, the F-35 can do much more, and the aircraft gives the pilot a much better understanding of the situation,” said Lt. Col. Strand."The F-35 represents the future, and the aircraft is clearly needed to be able to meet tomorrow's threats," he added.
ATO Allied Air Command oversees the air policing mission for all of NATO's European Allies through its two Combined Air Operations Centers in Spain and . Allied Air Command also works with Allied Air Forces to integrate modern aircraft such as the F-35 into NATO Air Power. Iceland is an example of this.
Source: NATO/NATO
