Formidable Shield is a vital opportunity for NATO AWACS to demonstrate how we connect the battlespace—from the air to the sea. By delivering real-time situational awareness and coordinating Allied airpower, we help ensure the Alliance remains ready and responsive to today’s evolving threats. 

                                   — Lieutenant Colonel Romaine, Detachment Commander NATO AWACS.

Formidable Shield is designed to test and improve participants’ capabilities to counter a range of threats across all domains. The exercise features a series of complex live-fire scenarios against subsonic, supersonic, and ballistic targets. It brings together Allied naval vessels, ground forces, and air assets, including NATO AWACS, operating in a coordinated battlespace to deliver joint effects and demonstrate the combat readiness and credibility of NATO forces.

Participating nations include Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

A NATO E-3A AWACS aircraft takes off from FOL Ørland, Norway, 3 May 2025, for Exercise Formidable Shield 2025. This strategic base enables the NATO Airborne Early Warning and Control Force to flexibly support missions and exercises across a wide area from the Baltic States to the High North. (Photo by OR-5 Andrew Hummel)

FOL Ørland

During the exercise, NATO AWACS aircraft are operating out of Forward Operating Location (FOL) Ørland in Norway. This strategic base enables the NATO Airborne Early Warning and Control Force to flexibly support missions and exercises across a wide area from the Baltic States to the High North. Additionally, two KC-135 Stratotankers from the U.S. Air National Guard are also deployed at Ørland. Their presence provides essential aerial refueling support for both the NATO AWACS detachment and the exercise Formidable Shield.