The NATO Tiger meet held at Beja Air Base, Portugal is coming to a close after two weeks of live fly training between NATO and partner nations. This is the first time that participating forces perform night sorties, maximizing operational training in all domain scenarios, where cyber defence and space effects were fused together. This increased interoperability between different assets is one of the main goals of the NATO Tiger Meet and key to the success of operations.
Ground troops had the opportunity to conduct Close Air Support missions via Joint Terminal Air Controllers. Alongside Joint Personnel Recovery missions carried out by the NATO Tiger Helicopter Squadrons and aeromedical evacuation missions with a C-295M fitted for patient transfer. The integration of all these capabilities in one exercise enhances NATO’s ability to react to a wide range of threats and challenges.
The event, organized by the Portuguese Air Force involved eight nations and 24 squadrons, 56 aircraft. The NATO Tiger meet exercise provided a great opportunity for valuable integration between NATO nations & Partnership for Peace members, with a new focus on incorporating cyber and space effects. The operational training serials involved complex scenarios against aerial, land and maritime threats.
The NATO Tiger Meet is a tactical-level live-fly event that has existed since 1961. The overarching framework is provided by the NATO Tiger Association and the individual meets are organised by the hosting squadron – this year the Squadron 301 – “Jaguares” of the Portuguese Air Force. Whilst not related to any NATO headquarters, the NATO Tiger Meet provides unique squadron-level training and enhances professionalism and good airmanship across NATO’s air forces.
