PRESS

NATO nations continue decreasing defense funding,
the level of participation in NATO-level exercises and
nationally hosted multilateral or bilateral training will
almost certainly fall as well. To forestall this, NATO
and alliance militaries should be examining increased
use of linked, high-end simulators.
Simulation capabilities are advancing every year,
enabling aircrews to make “fatal” mistakes that they
learn from without experiencing the costly loss of
life and aircraft resources. The challenge with linking
high-fidelity aircraft simulators is that it requires
a significant upfront investment from NATO nations.
CURRENT CHALLENGES
NATO’s leaders currently face 10 key challenges
to the alliance’s air capabilities and operations. The
following subsections detail NATO’s current plans
to address these issues and identify what it can do
to overcome these shortages in a more effective and
sustainable manner.
Stealth Capability.
Stealth capability is not a luxury; it is a necessity
in the context of the advancing defense designs that
NATO airmen could face. Currently, the United States
provides the only stealth aircraft capability. But the
F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) will fill this void for
non-U.S. NATO nations, seven of which have ordered
or stated intent to buy a total of 512 F-35s: the UK,
the Netherlands, Italy, Canada, Denmark, Norway,
and Turkey. 18 This international venture is a win for
NATO. The fifth-generation F-35 provides a commonality
of logistics and tactics for any future NATO
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