NATO Support for Pope
Benedict’s visit to Spain
Mons, Belgium-- At the request of Spanish
national authorities, aircraft from the NATO Airborne Early Warning and Control
Force (NAEW&C Force) will provide airspace surveillance support during the
Pope Benedict XVI visit to “5th World Meeting of
Families†in Valencia, Spain on 9
July 2006.
NATO has
agreed to augment Spain’s air surveillance capability by providing additional
low-level coverage and radio relay in order to contribute to security during
the event. This will provide enhanced aerial situational
awareness in terms of an augmented air surveillance picture and improved
communication capability.
The E-3D NAEW&C
component based at Waddington, UK, will carry out this mission from Airbase
Zaragoza (SP).
Since NATO
started to give air surveillance support in 2001 as part of the Alliance’s
`contribution to the defence against global terrorism, NAEW&C Force has
been assigned this type of mission in more than 30 events, including the Winter
Olympic Games in Turin in February 2006 and the Pope’s visit to Poland some
weeks ago. In all, the NATO Airborne Early Warning and Control Force has flown
more than 3,000 hours in these missions.
The E3 aircraft, a
modified Boeing 707, is equipped with radar capable of detecting air traffic
over large distances and at low altitudes. One E3 operating at 30,000 feet
generates a clear picture of aircraft movements from high to low altitude to a
distance greater than 200 nautical miles (approximately 360 kilometres).
NAEW&C
Force is composed of two components: the full NATO-flagged E3-A Component at
Geilenkirchen, made up of 17 aircraft and multinational crews, and the E3-D
Component at Waddington whose seven aircraft and crews are British.