NATO authorities have decided to deploy its Boeing E-3A Sentry (also known as Airborne Warning and Control System – AWACS) surveillance aeroplanes to Bucharest, Romania. The aircraft are expected to arrive there on 17th January 2023, in order to support the Alliance presence in the region and monitor Russian military activity.
Since February of 2022, NATO significantly increased its presence in eastern Europe, including deployments of several fighters, surveillance aircraft and tankers to eastern-flank members of the Alliance. From this point forward, the fleet of NATO AWACS jets condusts regular patrols along the eastern border of the Alliance, as well as the Baltic Sea, to track any aviation activities near the NATO airspace.
´Our AWACS can detect aircraft hundreds of kilometres away, making them a key capability for NATO’s deterrence and defence posture,´ said NATO spokesperson Oana Lungescu, while expressing her thanks to Romania ´for hosting the aircraft, which makes an important contribution to our early warning´.
The NATO reconnaissance flights – performed solely over the Alliance territory – are expected to commence in the coming days. Approximately 180 military personnel is being deployed to Otopeni air base near Bucharest, in support of the AWACS deployment to Romania.
If you would like to learn more about Boeing E-3A Sentry aircraft, including history of its development, we recommend to check out our article focused on that type of aeroplane, issued on the 45th anniversary of its maiden flight. Additional information about the NATO early warning fleet can be found in our article published approximately one year ago, within Photo of the Week series.
Information from the NATO press materials were used.
