The Quest for Relevant Air Power

POST–COLD WAR CHALLENGES │ 23
borne early warning component. The multinational NATO fleet is
based in Germany and operates 17 Boeing NATO E-3A Airborne
Warning and Control System (AWACS) aircraft. The aircraft are
manned by international crews from 15 NATO nations (Belgium,
Canada, Denmark, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands,
Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Turkey, and the
United States). 63
Courtesy US Air Force
NATO E-3A AWACS aircraft. A GAF NATO communications technician
stands at the entrance to the E-3A AWACS, Cold Lake, Alberta. The aircraft
and its crew, stationed at NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen, Germany, were
participating in Maple Flag 37, a multinational air combat exercise.
More recently, the NRF has been a major catalyst for air force
cooperation. The NRF’s air component is multinational and contains
approximately 6,000 personnel, 84 combat aircraft, 80 support
aircraft, and three deployable air bases. 64 So far, combined
joint force air component (CJFAC) commands have rotated between
NATO’s regional air component command headquarters at
Ramstein AB, Germany, and at Izmir, Turkey, as well as between
the RAF and the French Air Force. 65
Within a NATO context, cooperation has recently also been
fostered on a conceptual level through the setting up of the Joint
Air Power Competence Centre (JAPCC). The German Air Force
was a key player in setting up the JAPCC, which became operational
in Kalkar, Germany, in early 2005. 66 It had been argued that