Iceland Fighter Meet - 3-21 february 2014

[Piet Luijken]

NATO will conduct what it describes as "an air defense flying training event" in Iceland on 3-21 February 2014.

Participating in Iceland Fighter Meet 2014 (IFM14) will be NATO member Norway with F-16s and Partnership for Peace countries Finland with F-18s and Sweden with JAS Gripens. The different aircraft types will conduct air combat training together, as well as defensive and offensive counter-air operations and high-value airborne asset attack and protection.

IFM14 will be supported by Swedish aerial tankers, NATO airborne warning and control system (AWACS) aircraft, and search and rescue helicopters from Norway, Finland and Iceland.

NATO will coordinate IFM14 from its combined air operations center in Uedem, Germany, while the control and reporting center in Loki, Iceland, and a NATO AWACS aircraft operating from Norway will share control of participating fighters.

The Finnish and Swedish aircraft will be placed under the operational control of the Norwegian training director for IFM14 without ever coming under NATO’s direct authority. NATO avoids calling IFM14 an exercise and all training missions will be flown unarmed.

The Norwegian contingent will arrive several days before IFM14 to demonstrate NATO's capability to police Icelandic airspace under NATO's "peacetime preparedness mission" and real-world air policing will be conducted separately from the training event.