Large-scale Air Exercise Led From the North: Demonstrates Ability to Carry Out Complex Operations

NATO's largest air exercise ever, Ramstein Flag 26, is approaching its final phase and will soon be coming in for landing. The almost two weeks long exercise has featured advanced air operations from the northern parts of the Nordic region to the southern parts of Spain. 

The exercise brings together 18 Nato countries and more than 200 aircraft, with up to 150 sorties every day. 

For the first time, it has all been led by NATO's Allied Air Command, with the Combined Air Operations Centre in Bodø, Northern Norway, as lead CAOC. 

Wide distribution

"Here in the northern part of the exercise, we have more than 150 fighter aircraft in action, in addition to a number of tanker aircraft and airborne command and control aircraft," the Commander of CAOC Bodø, Major General Tron Strand, tells HNN. 

We meet him on Monday this week at the Norwegian Armed Forces' base in Bodø, where the air operations centre is located.

"Up here in the north, the exercise is spread across the whole of the Nordic region at more than 13 bases in Norway, Sweden and Finland. The exercise demonstrates the NATO Alliance's ability to work together, while at the same time being distributed across several locations. We are showing that we are capable of carrying out very complicated air operations," Strand elaborates.

The Combined Air Operations Centre in Bodø is in contact with all the bases during the exercise, and for the first time in NATO, all planning is being carried out centrally at the CAOC. 

"A node in the Nordic region"

"The planning products are distributed to the bases, and operations and coordinated flights are then carried out for our training purposes," Strand adds. 

"We do not necessarily have contact with every single aircraft, but also use air command and control organisations in Sweden and Finland for support. In that way, we are also demonstrating an integrated air command and control system in the Nordic region," he points out. 

And when it comes to integration between the Nordic air forces, Strand is clear that progress is continually being made. 

"This is work that is continuously ongoing, and CAOC Bodø has become a node when it comes to air command and control in the Nordic region, where we, among other things, connect national air operations centres and the CAOC."

"We are continually achieving small victories that we build on. This includes flying across borders, using each other's bases, joint training, as well as larger joint exercises going forward," he continues. 

One of the most recent milestones came just before the Ramstein Flag exercise began, when Norwegian F-35 fighter aircraft for the first time operated out of Kallax Air Base in Northern Sweden.

The operation was in line with the NATO concept Agile Combat Employment (ACE), in which forces train to operate from several locations – and which is also an important part of the training during Ramstein Flag. 

"We saw that Norwegian F-35s received the necessary support, were able to land and take off, and carry out new missions. This was important from a Nordic integration perspective. In the same way that Sweden should be able to use Norwegian airfields, we must be able to use Swedish airfields," he emphasises.

"Important for NATO"

"CAOC Bodø is a major milestone for the integration of our newest Allies, Sweden and Finland within NATO," says Deputy Commander of NATO's Allied Air Command, Lieutenant General Guillaume Thomas, to HNN. 

In connection with Ramstein Flag, Thomas and a larger delegation of more than 100 officers and military leaders from Nato and partner countries are also present at CAOC Bodø this week.

The French lieutenant general is clear about the significance the Combined Air Operations Centre has for NATO's air command. 

"Our main task is to command and control assets in the air, and for that we need to rely on high scale operation centres like CAOC Bodø."

"With the integration of CAOC Bodø, we now rely on three air operations centres, the other two being located in Spain and Germany. This is very important to us because it makes us more resilient," he adds. 

Thomas also emphasises the importance of a strong defence on NATO's northern flank. 

"We must be able to protect the High North, because we have a lot of changes in this area."

"In the North Atlantic and the Arctic, NATO's new enhanced Vigilance Activity, Arctic Sentry, was recently launched in order to be able to react more quickly. It is important for NATO to be able to deter adversaries and defend the northern areas of the alliance," he adds.

Must be ready

CAOC Bodø was officially opened in October 2025 and is planned to have between 450 and 500 personell when it is fully operational.

While the centre is being built up at record speed, some of the infrastructure is still in the process of being developed.

"That takes time to build," says Head of National Operations, Brigadier General Michael Bottenvik-Hartmann, at CAOC Bodø. 

Bottenvik-Hartmann says much of his time now is spent on the future infrastructure development, in close cooperation with NATO.

"We do not have much time. We need to be ready when the war in Ukraine is over, he stresses and elaborates: 

"That is based on the Russian ability to regenerate their forces. We are learning a great deal [from the war in Ukraine, ed. note], but they learn a lot as well. They are constantly developing their technology and tactics. We need to be aware of that, and move forward at the same pace – or faster."