Inside the air policing mission keeping NATO leaders safe

IN THE SKIES ABOVE THE HAGUE — It was about 4 p.m. on what had been a routine mission on Tuesday when a hulking French reconnaissance plane patrolling the skies over the Netherlands suddenly started a sharp climb.

The captain, who was taking a break, made a dash for the cockpit. A surveillance officer relayed an order from the aircraft system to change route to avoid a midair collision.

Two Dutch F-35 fighter jets flying below had come too close to the French E-3F, often called an AWACS (Airborne Warning and Control Systems Aircraft), forcing the plane to adjust course at the last minute.

Fortunately for the 18-person crew, the jets below belonged to allies, not adversaries, and were also patrolling the skies for threats to the NATO summit being held in The Hague on Tuesday and Wednesday.

“This almost never happens,” said Lt. Col. Cédric who, like others quoted in this piece, was not authorized by the French Armed Forces to give his surname.

Cédric spoke to POLITICO on an 11-hour flight during which the French military showed how NATO secures the skies, whether for a major gathering of 32 world leaders or, increasingly, on the alliance’s eastern flank, closer to Ukraine, where Russian forces will often engage in hostile behavior.

“We are regularly working on NATO deployments, on joint exercises, and the aim is to be fully inter-operational,” Cédric said. Friction among armies from different nations must be reduced to an absolute minimum, he added.

The Russian aerial threat

The French AWACS circling the skies above the Netherlands is one of three reconnaissance planes that was deployed to help enforce a 10 kilometer no-fly zone and 60 kilometer heightened-control zone around the summit venue. Dutch fighter jets, refueling tanker aircraft, helicopters and ships at sea are also involved in the mission.

Though the threat level is low in the Netherlands, the crew remains vigilant.

“It’s calm,” said Maj. Benoît, the mission chief, as he stared at the mishmash of planes crisscrossing the flashing screen in front of him in the surveillance hub at the heart of the aircraft. 

“But it’s very busy … we have to make sure we’ve identified every single aircraft here.”

The E3-F AWACS on a mission to secure the air space above the NATO summit in The Hague. | Clea Caulcutt/POLITICO

The crew is particularly on the lookout for Russian aircraft seeking to disrupt their mission, a sight they’ve gotten used to during their regular deployments to NATO’s eastern borders.

Capt. Marc, the pilot, said Russian aircraft try to interfere with their missions on “every flight” to certain locations closer to the border.

“We’re flying in international zones, and [the Russians] tell us to leave. They say were are in a dangerous area and we need to go,” he said.

Marc explained that the crew continues their mission in such situations, standing their ground but answering “in a courteous and professional manner.”

But it’s not uncommon for encounters to become more intense. Regularly, and as recently as two months ago, NATO needed to scramble fighter jets to intercept Russian aircraft that were violating international air traffic regulations.

Former NATO Assistant Secretary General Camille Grand said these air policing operations in eastern Europe, known as Air Shielding missions, are important both strategically and symbolically.

Major Benoit oversees surveillance operations inside the AWACS. | Clea Caulcutt/POLITICO

“If you attack Estonia, French and British soldiers will get killed, it’s not Russia against Estonia, but Russia against NATO. It binds us together,” Grand said.

But relations among allies have come under unprecedented strain since U.S. President Donald Trump’s January return to the White House and the mixed messages he has sent on his commitment to the alliance — including casting doubt on NATO’s Article 5 clause.

European leaders meanwhile are striving to keep Trump engaged by pledging to allocate 5 percent of their GDP to defense.

Wax on, AWACS off

The AWACS is one of the French military’s biggest beasts, recognizable by the large disc above the body of the aircraft. France bought four of them from the United States in the 1990s, one of which has been permanently on alert in France since the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks.

The planes are equipped with a range of radars, including antennae that detect magnetic signals, which enable surveillance officers to identify the model and nationality of aircraft within a 700 km range.

But in a sign of the times, France’s AWACS are to be phased out by 2035 and replaced with Swedish GlobalEye Early Warning and Control aircraft, which Paris committed to buying last week.

The AWACS has a range of 700km and works with fighter jets scrambled to intercept hostile aircraft | Clea Caulcutt/POLITICO

If that deal goes through, it will be one of the first examples of an American defense company losing out to a non-U.S. rival in Europe since Trump’s reelection.

The crew see the move as necessary as AWACS have become rarer and harder to maintain. The GlobalEye aircraft requires a smaller crew aided by more advanced technology.

But according to mission chief Benoît, there’s a limit to automation.

In sensitive deployments, “the trajectory, altitude, the behavior coherence … and the nationality” of observed aircraft need to be assessed, Benoît said.

“You need a human operator to check nothing slips through the cracks,” he explained, his eyes locked on the red zone above The Hague.