The side is : the Air and Space Force at the center of NATOs FDO missions.

In April 2026, the French Air and Space Army (AAE) is participating in various missions known as Flexible Deterrence Options (FDO) to enhance the security of NATO’s airspace. The Air Defense and Air Operations Command (CDAOA) is planning and conducting these missions for France, ensuring the coherence of aerial effects and their integration into the joint maneuver.

On Thursday, April 9, an Airbus A330 MRTT “Phénix” joined the Baltic Sea. There, four Romanian F-16s, two Portuguese F-16s, and two Finnish F-18s simulated a contested zone. The scenario involved the blues, Romanian fighters, facing off against the reds represented by the Portuguese and Finnish aviation, in a coordinated setup based on command and control logic (C2), allowing for real-time synchronization of sensors, effectors, and allied decision chains.

On the ground, the blues are supported by a Spanish ground-to-air system, while in the air, a NATO E-3F Awacs aircraft ensures advanced aerial control. Also present on this mission, France is represented by a “Phénix” tanker aircraft whose role is to provide aerial refueling to contribute directly to strategic extension and operational continuity in depth. These dissuasive missions, commanded from the Ramstein Air Base in Germany by the Allied air command (AIRCOM, allied air command), are becoming increasingly recurrent and crucial for strengthening the interoperability of different actors.

Three other missions scheduled for April

If France once again demonstrates its ability to integrate its resources into NATO’s planned missions through its tanker aircraft, it nonetheless remains one of the essential actors within the Alliance. During the three FDOs organized on April 15 and 16, France was the mission commander (MC) for two of them. Beyond tactical coordination, the role of MC extends to mission planning, involving the responsibility for coordinating and conducting aerial operations in a complex multinational environment, benefiting the participating crews.

On April 15, four French Rafale aircraft, currently deployed in Lithuania for the Baltic Air Policing mission (BAP71), flew alongside 4 Finnish F-18s, 4 Swedish Gripens, and an Italian KC767 tanker aircraft. Then, on April 16, two new missions focused more on anti-drone efforts. In Poland, the AAE deployed an A330 MRTT, while in Estonia, France deployed 2 Rafale Bs, an E-3F alongside Portuguese F-16s, for a mission under French command, demonstrating the CDAOA’s ability to exercise multinational tactical command and aggregate allied resources around a robust C2 chain.

These FDO missions aim to strengthen the skills of the forces engaged in dynamic and demanding environments by integrating coordination between aircraft and ground-based air defense networks. These exercises are part of high-intensity engagement preparation, where C2 mastery constitutes a decisive operational factor of operational superiority, fully illustrating the CDAOA’s capacity and thus the AAE’s ability to plan, command, and conduct aerial operations in coalition.