In 2025, NATO air forces continued to reinforce the Alliance’s air policing posture along the eastern flank, demonstrating collective resolve to protect Allied airspace around the clock.
A new NATO Defence Innovation Accelerator for the North Atlantic (DIANA) site was inaugurated in Espoo, Finland, on 22 January 2026.
The Danish Armed Forces are strengthening their presence in Greenland and the North Atlantic through the ongoing Exercise Arctic Endurance, conducted with NATO Allies over much of the coming year.
Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte underlined the enduring importance of the transatlantic Alliance amid heightened political tensions.
Sweden will deploy a Gripen fighter aircraft unit to Iceland in February and March 2026 as part of NATO’s incident preparedness mission in the Arctic, the Swedish Armed Forces said on 19 January.
NATO has officially launched Exercise Steadfast Dart 2026 across Central Europe, with the start announced on 15 January in Mons, Belgium.
Croatia has begun policing its own airspace using newly acquired Rafale multirole fighters within NATO’s Integrated Air and Missile Defence framework.
The frigate Almirante Juan de Borbón will sail on 10 January from Ferrol Naval Base to begin a four-month deployment as flagship of NATO’s Standing Naval Group 1.
The NATO Support and Procurement Agency has placed a new order worth around €40 million for several hundred additional K-Ster mine neutralisation vehicles from the French company Exail, under a framework agreement signed in 2024.
NATO conducted the Eastern Flank Deterrence Line technical demonstration in Finland in December as part of the Task Force X – Eastern Flank Deterrence Line initiative.
From 1 January 2026, Croatia’s Rafale multirole fighters will assume responsibility for protecting national airspace within NATO’s Integrated Air and Missile Defence System.
Two NATO-nation intelligence services suspect Russia is developing a new anti-satellite weapon aimed at Elon Musk’s Starlink network, according to intelligence findings seen by The Associated Press.
Categories:
