INVESTIGATION: Ramstein Flag 2026 — 200 aircraft, 18 nations, NATO’s largest-ever air demonstration

Introduction: When the Alliance spreads its wings over twelve countries

A breakthrough exercise in NATO's history

From June 8 to 19, 2026, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization conducted Ramstein Flag 2026, officially described as the largest air exercise in its history. More than 200 aircraft from 18 allied nations operated from 20 locations across 12 countries, generating more than 150 sorties per day, from the fjords of northern Norway to the sun-drenched runways of southern Spain. This wasn't a theatrical rehearsal. It was a calculated, coordinated demonstration of force addressed to a very specific recipient.

For the first time in the Alliance’s history, Allied Air Command (AIRCOM) directed the entire exercise autonomously, without partner nations assuming the logistical burden. Three joint operations areas functioned simultaneously, combining live flight missions and synthetic training injections. The doctrine is shifting. Power is being distributed. And Moscow is watching.

The moment of truth for the new Nordic allies

Finland joined NATO in 2023 and Sweden in 2024. These two accessions radically transform the Alliance’s strategic geography: Russian maritime access to the Baltic Sea is tightening, and NATO's defense depth on its northern flank is expanding considerably. Ramstein Flag 2026 is the first large-scale demonstration of this concrete operational integration, with allied aircraft operating from Finnish and Swedish bases never used in this context before.

The geopolitical context has never been more charged. The war in Ukraine continues. Russian pressure on the Alliance's northern flank is intensifying. According to Forces News, incidents involving Russian ships threatening British waters have increased by a third over the past two years, and submarine activity in the North Atlantic has returned to Cold War levels. In this setting, an exercise of such magnitude is no minor event. It’s a signal.

Command structure: AIRCOM takes the stick alone

A historic first for Allied Air Command

What distinguishes Ramstein Flag 2026 from all previous editions is first and foremost the question of command. Allied Air Command, headquartered at Ramstein in Germany, assumed full planning and execution of an exercise of this magnitude for the very first time without the operational support of lead nations. As reported by DVIDS, this is the first time a multinational NATO air exercise of this type has been conducted by the Alliance's own air component.

The Combined Air Operations Centre Bodø (CAOC Bodø), established in Norway in the fall of 2025, played a central role in coordinating flights on the northern flank, progressively absorbing the new Nordic members into its operational tempo. Finnish bases at Rovaniemi, Pirkkala, and Tikkakoski, as well as the Swedish base at Kallax, hosted allied aircraft within a fully integrated command network. This is the concrete materialization of NATO's enlargement on the ground.

Three operations areas to cover Europe from end to end

The exercise unfolded across three joint operations areas operating simultaneously. In the north, CAOC Bodø coordinated fighter sweeps, suppression of enemy air defenses, and integrated air and missile defense scenarios over Scandinavian and Finnish airspace. In the south, Spanish bases anchored maritime strike training and defensive air defense over the Western Mediterranean. Never before had the Alliance orchestrated such operational simultaneity.

According to Lieutenant General Jason T. Hinds, Commander of AIRCOM: "This iteration of Ramstein Flag stretches from the northernmost parts of Norway to the southern reaches of Spain, showcasing Allied Airpower's 360-degree approach to defend every inch of NATO territory." This isn't just a hollow catchphrase. It is the 360-degree defense doctrine set to music by 200 aircraft and thousands of allied airmen across twelve countries.

The arsenal: A representative sample of Alliance power

From F-35s to Eurofighters: Fleet diversity

The roster of the fleet engaged in Ramstein Flag 2026 is a demonstration in itself of NATO’s industrial and technological depth. It includes F-35A and F-35B Lightning IIs from Denmark, Italy, Norway, and the United States; Spanish F/A-18s; Belgian, Turkish, and Polish F-16s; Eurofighter Typhoons and German Tornados; tankers like the American KC-135 Stratotanker and the French and Spanish A330 MRTT; ISR platforms; and NATO's own assets, the E-3A AWACS and RQ-4D Phoenix drones.

The Swedish Air Force deployed a detachment of JAS 39 Gripens to Bardufoss Air Station in Norway, where Norway reactivated a bunkerized hangar complex dating from the Cold War after about four decades of dormancy. The United Kingdom contributed one of its two aircraft carriers, HMS Prince of Wales, accompanied by HMS Duncan and RFA Tidespring, with F-35Bs operated by 809 Naval Air Squadron and 617 Squadron. As Commodore Richard Hewitt stated: "Launching fifth-generation F-35Bs from HMS Prince of Wales during Exercise Ramstein Flag delivers a clear and deliberate signal: the UK Carrier Strike Group is fully integrated into Nato's frontline defence."

More than 120 jets in the air simultaneously

The operational tempo exceeds the capabilities of most national air forces taken individually. More than 120 jets were flying simultaneously during the major sortie waves planned by CAOC Bodø in an exercise area measuring 700 by 700 kilometers covering the airspaces of northern Finland, Sweden, and Norway. According to the Finnish Air Force, the Ilmavoimat alone deployed 12 F/A-18 C/D Hornet fighters, while foreign participation on Finnish territory reached an additional 50 aircraft.

The underlying logistics are staggering: every sortie requires perfect coordination between operations, maintenance, refueling, and support in Arctic conditions, with extreme temperatures, unpredictable weather, and prolonged sunlight. As Forces News notes, nations unaccustomed to Arctic conditions—France, Greece, Italy—were able to acclimate to difficult terrain and extraordinary operational conditions. This is precisely one of the exercise’s objectives.

The F-35B shock on Finnish highways: The Agile Combat Employment revolution

VMFA-224 lands at Tervo — an absolute first

From June 8 to 12, 2026, Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 224 (VMFA-224) conducted the first-ever short takeoff and vertical landing operations of U.S. Marine Corps F-35B Lightning IIs from a Finnish highway strip near Tervo, Finland. This is an absolute first in the history of allied air operations on Finnish territory. According to Army Recognition, the operation demonstrated "how NATO intends to keep advanced airpower operational even if Russian missile and drone strikes disable conventional air bases."

The F-35Bs weren't alone in this demonstration. Spanish F/A-18 EF-18 Hornets and Polish F-16s joined them on the roadway. This was also the first time Polish and Spanish fighter jets operated from Finnish road infrastructure. Forward logistical support—refueling and rearming—was provided by Marine Wing Support Squadron 272, which established a Forward Arming and Refueling Point (FARP) directly on the highway stretch, far from any conventional airfield infrastructure.

The philosophy behind the strip of asphalt

Why a highway? Because the lesson of Ukraine is etched into the Alliance’s strategic brain. Russia has demonstrated, by systematically striking Ukrainian airfields, that fixed runways, fuel depots, shelters, and command nodes are the primary targets of modern air warfare. Its long-range strike capabilities—ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, one-way attack drones—can neutralize an entire airbase in a few waves. NATO’s answer is called Agile Combat Employment (ACE): disperse, move, survive.

As Army Recognition analyzes, "the ability to hide, move, refuel, arm, and relaunch combat aircraft from unexpected locations may determine whether airpower survives the opening phase of a major conflict." The logic is relentless: if an adversary must target dozens of dispersed locations rather than a handful of large bases, the cost in munitions and planning explodes. Finland, whose road network was built with this doctrine in mind since the Cold War, possesses an infrastructure particularly suited to these dispersed operations.

Counter-A2/AD: Breaking Russian anti-access bubbles

Questioning the Russian A2/AD doctrine

One of the central strategic priorities of Ramstein Flag 2026 is Counter Anti-Access/Area Denial (C-A2/AD). This doctrine responds directly to the Russian strategy of creating "bubbles" of denied access—zones where surface-to-air missile systems and electronic warfare make allied aircraft operations extremely risky. Russia deploys S-400, S-300 systems, and short-range ballistic missiles in configurations intended to forbid access over the areas it wishes to control.

NATO’s response is multidimensional: suppression of enemy air defenses, precision strikes on command and control nodes, and the use of F-35 stealth capabilities to penetrate these defended zones and transmit real-time data to other battlefield actors. As Defence24 reports, the main maneuvers are taking place in northern Norway and Finland, along the border with the Kola Peninsula—exactly where the Russian Northern Fleet's submarine bases, capable of carrying nuclear weapons, are stationed.

NATO trains at the doorstep of Russian nuclear submarines

The Kola Peninsula is one of the most militarized places on the planet. It is where the Russian Northern Fleet concentrates its nuclear ballistic missile submarines—the SSBNs of the Borei and Dolgoruky classes. The geographic proximity of the exercise to this area is no accident: it is an explicit demonstration of the Alliance’s ability to operate in contested environments adjacent to Russian strategic nuclear forces. The Kremlin, unsurprisingly, announced "counter-measures," according to Eastern Herald, without specifying their nature.

The integration of integrated air and missile defense (IAMD) into the exercise further reinforces this dimension. Scenarios test the ability of allied forces to detect, track, and neutralize aerial and ballistic threats in an electronically noisy environment, with simultaneous interference, decoys, and cyberattacks. The exercise covers domains in an intentionally multi-domain manner: air, land, maritime, cyber, and space.

The F-35 sensor-to-shooter chain: A world first for allied interoperability

A non-U.S. F-35 transmits real-time data to an artillery unit

One of the most significant technical revelations of Ramstein Flag 2026 is the successful demonstration of an integrated sensor-to-shooter chain between an allied fifth-generation fighter and a ground artillery unit. According to MiGFlug, a non-U.S. F-35 in flight transmitted classified data in real-time to a Dutch command and control environment called Keystone. This data was then relayed to a ground rocket artillery unit, which neutralized a simulated threat detected by the F-35.

This is a world first. It proves that "connected warfare"—networked warfare—is no longer reserved for U.S. forces. An allied F-35 can now act as a node in a pan-allied network of sensors and weapons, detecting, classifying, and sharing threat information in real-time. The speed at which data flows from the aircraft to the ground artillery—bypassing intermediate human filters—radically reduces the decision cycle. In a high-intensity conflict, these seconds can be decisive.

F-35s as intelligent nodes of the allied network

The role of the F-35 in the exercise goes beyond that of a simple fighter or strike platform. These aircraft operate as nodes in an expanded network of allied sensors and communications, detecting, classifying, and sharing information on threats in real-time. This data fusion capability—combining information from onboard radars, electro-optical sensors, and electronic warfare systems—is at the heart of the tactical superiority NATO seeks to consolidate.

The Alliance's E-3A AWACS complete this picture by providing extended aerial surveillance coverage, allowing command centers to maintain a coherent operational picture over vast and complex airspaces. NATO's RQ-4D Phoenix drones provide persistent ISR—intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance—over theaters of operation without exposing pilots to potentially hostile environments. The Bodø exercise, for the first time, coordinated all these assets into a unified command on the northern flank.

The Nordic dimension: Finland and Sweden, two years after accession

Concrete integration of new Nordic members

Two years after the accession of Finland (2023) and Sweden (2024), Ramstein Flag 2026 represents the first tangible demonstration of their integration into the Alliance's air defense architecture. CAOC Bodø is progressively absorbing the two new members into its operational rhythm. Finnish and Swedish airspaces, once strategic buffer zones, have become full-fledged allied training theaters.

The Finnish Air Force confirmed that Ramstein Flag 26 is the first time CAOC Bodø, established in the fall of 2025, was involved in planning and directing an air exercise on this scale. This is not trivial: it means Finnish and Swedish procedures are now directly integrated into NATO’s operational planning cycle. In a real crisis involving the Baltic states or Arctic approaches, aircraft operating from Finland could support air policing missions, defensive counter-air, suppression of enemy defenses, and precision strikes.

Bardufoss resurrected: Norwegian military history reactivated

One of the strongest symbols of this exercise is the reactivation of the Bardufoss Air Station in Norway, where Swedish JAS 39 Gripens operated. This bunkerized hangar complex, built during the Cold War, had been left dormant for about four decades. Its return to active service as part of a NATO exercise with Swedish planes is a strong message: the Alliance’s strategic memory is regaining its Nordic reflexes, and the cold infrastructures of yesterday’s deterrence are once again becoming concrete operational assets.

Sweden, whose Kallax base in Luleå served as a hub for the northern part of the exercise, hosted a visit from Admiral Giuseppe Cavo Dragone, Chair of the NATO Military Committee, on June 16, 2026. His presence at Kallax, combined with his visits to Norway and Finland, illustrates the importance placed on the northern flank by the Alliance's highest officials. As he stated: "to deter and, if necessary, defend, NATO must continue to invest in air capabilities that can fly faster than sound, see further than the eye, decide faster than any opponent."

Eastern Sentry: The exercise anchored in real deterrence

An operational framework drawn from real-world scenarios

Ramstein Flag 2026 did not deploy in a doctrinal vacuum. It operates under the framework of NATO's enhanced vigilance activity Eastern Sentry—which means, concretely, that training scenarios are drawn directly from real deterrence requirements along the Alliance’s eastern flank. This is not a fictional exercise with an imaginary enemy. The scenarios reflect identified threats, documented capabilities, and current operational plans.

According to Eastern Herald, the shift of operational emphasis toward the north and northeast—with Finland and Norway serving as primary hosts—places a significant portion of the exercise within reach of Russian airspace. Previous editions focused on the North Sea and Dutch and Danish airspaces. This geographic migration toward the northeast is deliberate and represents a direct response to the doctrines Russia has demonstrated in Ukraine.

Ukrainian lessons applied to the NATO flank

NATO strategists have observed, dissected, and integrated the lessons from the war in Ukraine into the Ramstein Flag 2026 scenarios. The strategic priorities—C-A2/AD, IAMD, ACE—are each a direct response to documented Russian tactics. Missile strikes against Ukrainian airfields led to ACE. The Russian demonstration of A2/AD systems led to C-A2/AD exercises. Ukrainian interoperability gaps led to IAMD and data-link efforts.

The Alliance isn't just rearming: it is doctrinally reorganizing in light of a real war. Lt. Col. Dustin Merritt, commander of the deployed detachment from the 493rd Fighter Squadron, put it clearly: "We train how we fight, and the 48th Fighter Wing has a proven track record of answering the call, wherever, whenever and however we're needed." This isn't a PR line. It’s a statement of operational intent.

The naval dimension: HMS Prince of Wales enters the equation

A fifth-generation aircraft carrier in the air exercise

The integration of the British carrier strike group into Ramstein Flag 2026 considerably broadens the tactical scope of the exercise. HMS Prince of Wales, one of two British carriers, contributed its F-35B Lightning IIs from 809 NAS and 617 Squadron, joined by HMS Duncan and RFA Tidespring. This participation illustrates the maritime dimension of defending NATO's northern flank, where the North Sea and the North Atlantic constitute critical strategic access axes.

The presence of HMS Prince of Wales is not just symbolic. F-35Bs operating from a carrier can extend the geographic reach of the exercise to areas where land bases are absent or vulnerable, further complicating the targeting plans of a potential adversary. Commodore Richard Hewitt summarized the logic: "Together, we deliver precise, seamlessly synchronised combat power in defence of Nato's northern flank."

Aerial refueling: The logistical backbone

The capacity for aerial refueling constitutes the logistical nervous system of the entire exercise. Several nations participated in this crucial element: France, Poland, Turkey, and the United States. The American KC-135 Stratotanker from the 100th Air Refuelling Wing and the A330 MRTT from the French Air and Space Force provided part of this coverage. Without aerial refueling, fighters engaged in areas as remote as northern Norway or the Strait of Gibraltar would be radically limited in their operational endurance.

The exercise also tests the interoperability of refueling systems between different nations, with procedures that sometimes diverge depending on whether they use the probe-and-drogue method or the boom-and-receptacle method. This logistical harmonization, often overlooked in strategic analyses, is nonetheless fundamental for a coalition force to sustain operations over time, well beyond the first sorties of an eventual conflict.

Multinational refueling and Arctic logistical complexities

Operating in the Arctic: Beyond maps and doctrines

Exercise Ramstein Flag 2026 confronted many nations with operational challenges they had never encountered on this scale. The Arctic conditions of northern Norway and Finland—extreme temperatures, constantly evolving weather, near-permanent daylight in June—test not only equipment but also standard operating procedures. According to Forces News, nations unaccustomed to these conditions, such as France, Greece, and Italy, had the opportunity to acclimate to this particularly demanding terrain.

Aircraft maintenance in Arctic conditions represents a challenge in its own right. Hydraulic fluids behave differently, electronic systems can be affected by temperature variations, and the speed of refueling from forward points requires practiced procedures. The 200+ airmen of the 48th Fighter Wing working alongside the Finnish Air Force, Marine Air Control Squadron 2, and MWSS-272 had to integrate these constraints into a tempo of over 150 sorties per day.

Host Nation Support: The hidden logistical depth

Behind the apparent power of 200 aircraft in flight lies a host nation support infrastructure that is rarely discussed but determines everything. Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden and Spain each provided infrastructure, support personnel, overflight authorizations, and logistical facilities that allow foreign forces to operate on their soil as if they were at home. This dimension of host nation support—covered by Forces News—was also tested and reinforced during the exercise.

The 123rd Airlift Wing of the Kentucky Air National Guard provided tactical transport support to NATO allies throughout the month of June from the Lapland Air Wing in Rovaniemi, Finland, as documented by DVIDS. This contribution from the U.S. National Guard in a major NATO operational context illustrates the depth of the force reservoir the United States can draw upon, well beyond active-duty units.

The Russian response: Rhetorical threats and counter-measures

Moscow promises "counter-measures"

Russia did not remain silent in the face of the scale of Ramstein Flag 2026. The Kremlin announced "counter-measures" on the very day of the official launch of the exercise, June 8, 2026, without specifying their nature, according to Eastern Herald. This rhetoric is consistent with Moscow's usual pattern: denouncing NATO exercises as "provocative" while maintaining its own forces on high alert on its western flank. The Kola Peninsula, with its nuclear submarine bases, constitutes the implicit target of the northern part of the exercise.

What is significant is that Russia can no longer rely on Finnish or Swedish "neutrality" to create a buffer zone between its northern forces and NATO. In less than two years, the Alliance’s strategic geography has changed radically. American F-35s now operate from Pirkkala, a Finnish base less than 400 kilometers from Saint Petersburg. Swedish Gripens operate from Bardufoss, opposite the maritime approaches of the Russian northern fleet. This is not a marginal change. It is a geostratic shift of the first magnitude.

Deterrence, not provocation

It is important to clarify what Ramstein Flag 2026 is not. It is not a preparation for an attack. It is not a provocation intended to trigger a conflict. It is deterrence in its most transparent form: demonstrating that the Alliance possesses the capabilities, procedures, and will to defend its territory in the event of aggression. The distinction between deterrence and provocation is precisely the one Russian propaganda seeks to erase. NATO exercises are planned in advance, announced publicly, and conducted according to strict rules of engagement.

Admiral Giuseppe Cavo Dragone formulated it clearly from Kallax: "In the air domain, deterrence and defence require the integration of science, operational art, engineering, computing and human performance. Together, these allow NATO to detect, understand, decide and act across 360 degrees, from every direction and against every threat." This doctrine is not aggressive. It is defensive in its essence—but so complete in its execution that it makes any aggression against Alliance territory rationally insane.

The operational balance: What NATO has learned

Absolute firsts that change doctrine

Ramstein Flag 2026 produced a series of operational firsts that will permanently transform the Alliance’s air doctrine. First autonomous direction by AIRCOM of an exercise of this scale. First operation of U.S. Marine Corps F-35Bs from a Finnish highway. First deployment of Marine Corps F-35Bs to Finland, period. First operation of Polish and Spanish aircraft from Finnish road infrastructure. First real-time transmission of classified data between a non-U.S. F-35 and an allied command environment to a ground artillery unit.

Each of these firsts is not an anecdote: it is a capability that is now part of the Alliance's operational repertoire. Procedures have been honed, personnel have been trained, technical interfaces have been validated. The next time NATO needs to mobilize these capabilities—in an exercise or, in the worst case, a real-world situation—it will know how. Repetition creates competence. Competence creates confidence. Confidence creates deterrence.

Interoperability at the heart of success

The exercise highlighted spectacular progress in interoperability between nations with different equipment and doctrines. Italian, Norwegian, Danish, and American F-35s sharing real-time data in a common network; German Eurofighters and Polish F-16s operating from the same bases; Swedish Gripens coordinated from the same command center as British F-35Bs launched from a carrier—NATO has proven it can fly radically different fleets together within a coherent combat framework.

General Jason T. Hinds concluded on this note: "By focusing on current and future threats, improved tactics and robust integration, we continue to strengthen our collective deterrence." Behind this formula lies two weeks of tireless work by thousands of airmen, maintainers, air traffic controllers, and planners who made the most complex machine in the history of Western collective defense function. That is NATO in 2026.

Long-term strategic implications for the eastern flank

An Alliance changing its posture, not just its size

Ramstein Flag 2026 is not just part of the continuity of annual NATO exercises. It marks a qualitative shift in the Alliance's posture. As Army Recognition analyzes, Russia can no longer assume that neutralizing a few large landing strips would suffice to paralyze allied airpower in the region. The combination of ACE, dispersed highway bases, forward FARPs, and decentralized command capabilities creates a structural resilience that the Russian military architecture was not designed to counter.

The exercise also demonstrates that the entry of Finland and Sweden into NATO is not just a geographic addition. It is access to sophisticated military infrastructure built specifically to survive and operate in a contested Nordic environment. The Finnish road network, its dispersed air bases, its advanced maintenance capabilities—all of this integrates into an allied system that becomes exponentially more robust as new members contribute to it.

A message to Indo-Pacific allies and partners

The symbolic dimension of Ramstein Flag 2026 goes beyond NATO's northern flank. As Army Recognition notes, China is developing a similar A2/AD strategy in the Indo-Pacific, centered on missiles intended to keep American and allied bases at a distance. The lessons of Ramstein Flag—dispersion, ACE, operations from non-conventional infrastructure—are therefore directly transferable to Pacific theaters. Allies in the Pacific Alliance—Australia, Japan, South Korea—are watching these developments with interest.

The exercise also sends a message to NATO partners who are not members but gravitate in its orbit—Ukraine foremost among them. Seeing the Alliance conduct the largest air exercise in its history, directly anchored in the lessons of the Russo-Ukrainian war, with the same strategic objectives that Kyiv faces daily, can only encourage Ukrainian determination. The West isn't giving up. It is training. It is preparing. It is strengthening. And Zelensky can witness it.

Conclusion: Airpower as the language of peace

200 aircraft to say "no" to aggression

Ramstein Flag 2026 will go down in the annals of the Alliance’s military history as a turning point. Not because it was the largest—though it was. Not because it was the first entirely led by AIRCOM—though that was also the case. But because it demonstrated, incontestably, that NATO has absorbed the lessons of five years of war in Ukraine and is ready to apply those lessons to its own defense. Two hundred planes, eighteen nations, twelve countries, one hundred and fifty sorties a day—this isn’t arrogance. It’s determination.

Airpower, at its best, is the language of deterrence. It tells a potential adversary: your window of opportunity does not exist. Your missiles will not paralyze our planes because our planes are not where you think they are. Your A2/AD systems will not stop us because we are training to break them. Your nuclear rhetoric will not intimidate us because we operate at your doorstep with the same determination as at our own borders. This is the message NATO sent for twelve days, from Tervo to Seville, from Bardufoss to the Mediterranean.

The exercise is over, the work continues

Ramstein Flag 2026 officially ended on June 19. The planes returned to their national bases. The pilots debriefed their sorties. The maintainers packed away their tools. But the lessons learned, the validated capabilities, the historic firsts achieved—all of that remains. ACE procedures are written into the manuals. Data links between allied F-35s and ground artillery units are documented and reproducible. CAOC Bodø has proven it can lead an exercise of this scale, and it is ready to lead a real operation if necessary.

NATO has thirty-two members. Eighteen participated in this exercise. It isn’t unanimity, but it is a massive majority of the Alliance’s collective airpower, deployed in coherence, under a single command, over two weeks, in real-world conditions. For those who still doubted the Alliance’s ability to function as an integrated military actor in the 21st century—here is your answer. Two hundred aircraft. Eighteen nations. One Alliance.

Signed Maxime Marquette, columnist

Sources

Primary Sources

MiGFlug — Ramstein Flag 2026: NATO Launches Its Biggest Air Exercise Ever — June 18, 2026

NATO — The Chair of the NATO Military Committee visits Ramstein Flag 2026 — June 16, 2026

DVIDS — Liberty Wing strengthens Allied interoperability during Ramstein Flag 26 — June 10, 2026

Secondary Sources

Defence Industry Europe — U.S. Marine Corps F-35Bs conduct first highway operations in Finland during Ramstein Flag 2026 — June 17, 2026

Army Recognition — U.S. Marine F-35B Fighter Jets Land on Finnish Highway for First Time in NATO Exercise — June 18, 2026

Defence24 — NATO projects power near Russia's nuclear submarine bases — June 10, 2026

Forces News — Ramstein Flag: Nato's largest air exercise sees a massive display of force — June 19, 2026

Stars and Stripes — Marine fighter jet deploys to Finland for first time, landing on highway — June 17, 2026