Geirenkirchen in Germany
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After slowly leading towards the runway of NATO’s Geilenkirchen Airbase, the pilot is fully throttle, and decades-old E-3 Sentry Surveillance Plane speeds up and screams on its way to Eastern Europe.
After multiple invasions into NATO airspace by drones and aircraft, the alliance is strengthening its presence in Eastern Europe to counter the Russian threat.
The NATO name for this mission is “East Sentry”, with CNN invited Eastern Europe on an eight-hour surveillance flight, looking deep into Russia and Belarus’ territory to detect possible invasions in NATO airspace.
The crew consisted of military personnel from various NATO countries, including the United States, Canada, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Romania and Turkey.
“These missions mean a lot to us,” U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Steven Warnon told CNN. “When we patrol these borders, they are our borders. So that means we are here to protect our borders.”
The E-3 flew patterns over Polish airspace, eliminating Russia’s Kaliningrad, as well as monitoring the aircraft through Belarus and the Baltic Sea. Russian military aircraft were flying in these regions, but they all looked like everyday flights within the Russian and Belarus airspace.
However, NATO has seen an increase in what the Alliance calls provocative action by Russia.
On September 9, about 20 Russian drones headed from Ukrainian territory to Poland, with jets from several NATO countries scrambled and shot down. Russia claims it did not intentionally fly the drone to Poland, suggesting that Ukrainian electronic jamming may have evicted the course.
A few days later, on September 13, Russian drones violated Romanian airspace, urging Bucharest to scramble fighter jets.
Then in Estonia that month, NATO says three Russian MIG-31 jets flew through NATO territory for 12 minutes. This flew forever and ever before being intercepted by NATO aircraft stationed nearby. Russia claims that the jets did not cross into NATO airspace, but the alliance says there is data to prove that claim.
Recently, drones have disrupted air travel in Denmark, and drones have also been found near military sites. Danish authorities were unable to conclude who was responsible for what they described as a “hybrid attack,” but Prime Minister Mette Fredericksen suggested it could be Moscow.
A NATO spokesperson told CNN that a sentent plane from Geilenkirchen was nearby when the incident occurred in Estonia. And now, NATO is increasing the number of sorts these planes fly as tensions between Russia and the West rises.
“We’re part of a long command and control chain, so our main job is to detect it, track it, identify it and report it,” Warnon said.
The E-3 has a huge rotating radar dish attached to the fuselage. This allows operators to track aircraft up to 650 kilometers (400 miles) if they are flying high. Low-flying object objects can be detected in a range of approximately 400 kilometers, but plane sensors can see ground vehicles and ships in oceans that are well beyond the boundaries of NATO.
Surveillance controllers like the US Air Force could call Colonel Jacob Anderson to potentially move the Jets towards the NATO boundary towards the “track of interest,” causing further action from the E-3 squadron.
“At that point, not just my surveillance section, but the crew as a whole are talking about pushing the truck of interest off the board so that other players, like domestic players, can launch it and intercept it if necessary,” Anderson said he was standing on his computer screen, showing hundreds of planes across Eastern Europe.
If NATO decides to intercept Russia or other planes, the E-3 crew will guide the Alliance interceptors to target and also act as battleship managers.
To do all this, the plane needs to stay in the air for a very long time.
Mission CNN lasted for 8 hours, but at other times the flight can be well over 15 hours. Therefore, pilots need to become proficient in inter-aviation fueling. This is a difficult task for airplanes that are the size of commercial jet liners like the E-3.
CNN was in the cockpit as the E-3 received gas from the refueling aircraft as it was also above Polish airspace. As we approached the tanker, the surveillance surface had to pass through the wake of the feeder jet.
“It’s very difficult at first. Just get over the fear of ‘We’re nearly 9-10 feet close to that aircraft’,” Major Jason Sanchez, one of the pilots, told CNN.
“Essentially, power management, lateral management and making sure you feel great and comfortable in closures from a particular position” are all involved, he said.
The crew also practiced fire drills during the flight and a “touch and go” landing when they arrived back at NATO base in Geillenkirchen. Preparing for a potential emergency for a mission that the defensive alliance leadership is said to be key to deterring Russia.
“Russia’s recklessness along our eastern side is increasing in frequency,” NATO Secretary Mark Latte said recently. “The East Sentry adds flexibility and strength to our attitude.”
