{"id":17301,"date":"2018-02-14T21:40:04","date_gmt":"2018-02-14T21:40:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2018\/02\/14\/natos-tanker-awacs-programs-see-membership-increase\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T21:37:56","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T21:37:56","slug":"natos-tanker-awacs-programs-see-membership-increase","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/smr\/munich-security-forum\/2018\/02\/14\/natos-tanker-awacs-programs-see-membership-increase\/","title":{"rendered":"NATO\u2019s tanker, AWACS programs see membership increase"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">BRUSSELS \u2014 Canada has decided to rejoin NATO\u2019s Airborne Warning and Control Systems program, while Belgium has agreed to buy into the alliance\u2019s tanker program \u2014 a pair of moves expected to strengthen NATO\u2019s indigenous air capability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The two announcements both came Wednesday at a NATO defense ministerial conference in Brussels.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">NATO owns few pieces of equipment itself, with the 16-strong fleet of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/air\/2016\/09\/26\/nato-to-deploy-e-3-awacs-to-middle-east-as-early-as-october\/\" title=\"\" class=\"\" target=\"_blank\">E-3A AWACS surveillance aircraft<\/a> the crown jewel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Those planes operate primarily out of NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen, but can also operate out of component forward-operating bases in Aktion, Greece; Trapani, Italy; Konya, Turkey; and Oerland, Norway.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/smr\/munich-security-forum\/2018\/02\/14\/us-warns-against-protectionism-with-new-eu-defense-agreement\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"157\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP_17311424801935.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">US warns against \u2018protectionism\u2019 with new EU defense agreement<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">U.S. Ambassador to NATO Kay Bailey Hutchison warned against protectionism in Europe that could harm U.S. companies selling in Europe.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Canada was one of the 12 original nations that funded the NATO AWACS program, but announced it was withdrawing support in 2011, with operational standdown coming in 2014. Wednesday\u2019s decision to reverse that stand represents Canada\u2019s renewed commitment to the alliance, said Canadian Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cNATO is a cornerstone of Canada\u2019s international security policy, and is one of our most important multilateral relationships. In that spirit, Canada has decided to rejoin NATO\u2019s Airborne Warning and Control System,\u201d Sajjan announced at the ministerial event.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1184\" height=\"800\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-51102063.jpg.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-35493\" srcset=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-51102063.jpg.jpg 1184w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-51102063.jpg.jpg?resize=300,203 300w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-51102063.jpg.jpg?resize=768,519 768w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-51102063.jpg.jpg?resize=1024,692 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1184px) 100vw, 1184px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">U.S. Air Force airmen guide a KC-135R Stratotanker over the English Channel on March 31, 1999. The tanker was on its way to a refueling track to support NATO aircraft. (U.S. Air Force via Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The decision to pull out of the AWACS program saved about CA$50 million (U.S. $40 million) a year, according to the Canadian Armed Forces.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The move had angered NATO allies, but Canadian government officials insisted it was necessary. The ruling Conservative Party government defended its position by noting that Canadian military personnel still served on U.S. Air Force AWACS.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The current Liberal Party government of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau re-evaluated the decision in light of Canada\u2019s increasing commitment in Europe. Over the last several years, NATO has significantly increased the use of its AWACS, including in areas like Central and Eastern Europe, where Canada is leading a multinational NATO battlegroup based in Latvia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Sajjan said Canada would be supporting the capability through \u201ccontributing to its operations and support budget.\u201d Follow-up requests for confirmation that Canada would be contributing only money \u2014 and not training pilots or maintainers on the aircraft \u2014 were not returned by press time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">NATO nations hope to add another airborne capability through a new fleet of A330 multirole air-to-air refueling aircraft through a joint cost-sharing program. As with the AWACS fleet, the idea for the tanker aircraft is to pool resources to procure a high-end capability for NATO members who otherwise would not be able to afford refueling aircraft.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Wednesday\u2019s signing makes Belgium the fifth members of the coalition, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/2016\/07\/28\/netherlands-luxembourg-pitch-in-two-airbus-tankers-for-nato-fleet\/\" title=\"\" class=\"\" style=\"\" target=\"_blank\">joining the Netherlands, Luxembourg<\/a>, Germany and Norway. The first two tankers, which can also be used for transporting materiel or troops, were purchased by the Netherlands and Luxembourg in 2016. Belgium\u2019s inclusion means the fleet will now be a planned eight aircraft, with scheduled deployment between 2020 and 2024.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Notably, the NATO announcement about the agreement highlights how the five-nation team will \u201creduce the over-reliance on the United States\u201d in the area of transport and refueling. U.S. President Donald Trump has been vocal in his criticisms that NATO countries are not doing enough in the area of burden-sharing.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Canada has decided to rejoin NATO\u2019s airborne warning and control system program program, while Belgium has agreed to buy into the alliance\u2019s tanker program \u2014 a pair of moves expected to strengthen NATO\u2019s indigenous air capability.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":35490,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":120,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[7,160,162,46,11,36,30,48,120],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3445,3378],"class_list":["post-17301","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-air","category-daily-news-roundup","category-digital-show-daily","category-europe","category-global","category-newsletters","category-smr","category-the-americas","category-munich-security-forum"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"G3SFEUHNYZGTDOTJQ7Y3B45ZMM","arc_canonical_url":"\/smr\/munich-security-forum\/2018\/02\/14\/natos-tanker-awacs-programs-see-membership-increase\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented 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