NATO Allied Air Command (AIRCOM) conducted counter-uncrewed aerial systems (C-UAS) training over the Baltics on February 20 to reinforce Allied deterrence, strengthen cohesion and enhance operational readiness along NATO’s eastern flank.
The training was carried out in support of NATO’s enhanced Vigilance Activity, Eastern Sentry (EASN), and Joint Force Command Brunssum’s (JFC-Brunssum) exercise, Steadfast Dart 26.
“This kind of air training, also known as a Flexible Deterrent Option (FDO) mission, is a deterrence-oriented, carefully tailored and scalable activity intended to make the skies safe through robust Integrated Air and Missile Defence (IAMD),” NATO said on February 24. “This FDO was tailored to increase interoperability, refine tactics, techniques and procedures, and improve multi-domain integration across participating Allied units.”
The mission focused on practicing C-UAS tactics, which included countering a Turkish Baykar Bayraktar TB3. NATO’s Airborne Warning & Control System provided airborne command and control (C2) and cross-domain coordination during the C-UAS training mission. The activity was controlled by NATO’s Combined Air Operations Centre in Uedem, Germany.
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Image: A Turkish Baykar Bayraktar TB3 UAS takes off from a Turkish drone carrier as part of the C-UAS training on 20 February 2026. (Turkish Ministry of National Defence photo)
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