Around 130 Norwegian Air Force military and civilian personnel will be deployed to Iceland early next week, bringing four F-35 fighter aircraft. The routine visit is part of NATO’s air policing mission, scheduled to finish by the end of March.
In total, around 130 members and staff of the Norwegian Air Force will participate in the mission, as well as staff from the Combined Air Operations Centre in Uedem, Germany and the Icelandic Control and Reporting Centre at Keflavík Air Base. The Norwegian Air Force will deploy four of their F-35 fighter aircraft and will be based at Keflavík. Flight exercises in Akureyri and Egilsstaðir are scheduled for February 22-March 5, if weather conditions allow
As with other foreign personnel staying in Iceland temporarily, strict infection prevention restrictions will apply for the duration of the Norwegians’ stay in Iceland. The Directorate of Health, as well as medical authorities in Iceland and Norway, have contributed to the infection prevention arrangements.
The mission will be carried out in the same way it has in the past years, in accordance with NATO’s Icelandic Air Policing Mission. NATO allies maintain a periodic presence of NATO fighter aircraft based at Keflavik. The peacetime mission usually involves the deployment of fighter aircraft from Allied nations, typically for around three to four weeks, three times a year. The air policing mission is scheduled to finish by the end of March.
