A NATO E-3A Sentry Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) aircraft completed its first operational mission over Finnish airspace on March 3, 2026, escorted by Finnish Air Force F/A-18 Hornet fighters. This sortie marked the initial integration of NATO’s airborne command platform into Finland’s air defense network since the country’s NATO accession in 2023.
The mission linked Finland’s national air surveillance system, coordinated by the Air Operations Centre in Jyväskylä and the Control and Reporting Centre in Rovaniemi, with NATO’s AWACS battlespace management. Finnish F/A-18C/D Hornets from the Karelia and Lapland Air Wings received real-time target data, interception vectors, and situational awareness via Link-16 data links directly from AWACS weapons controllers. These modernized jets feature APG-73 radars, upgraded electronic warfare suites, AIM-120 AMRAAM missiles for beyond-visual-range engagements, and AGM-158 JASSM for precision strikes.
Joint Force Command Norfolk oversaw coordination with Finnish civilian air traffic authorities, while Allied Air Command tasked the AWACS. Reports vary on escort numbers: three Hornets per one source, eight conducting a four-versus-four exercise per another. Master Sergeant Aleksi Härkönen, Finland’s first crew member on a NATO E-3A, served as weapons controller aboard the aircraft.
The operation formed part of NATO’s Eastern Sentry and Arctic Sentry activities, enhancing long-range radar surveillance and command capabilities along the Alliance’s northern flank and eastern flank. Air Commodore Andy Turk, Chief of Staff of NATO Airborne Early Warning, noted the mission demonstrated collective commitment to High North security through established procedures with Finnish allies.