CAOC Torrejón Commander participates in the NATO Air Chiefs' Symposium in Ramstein

• The meeting addressed the challenges faced by the Alliance from an aerospace perspective

Commander of CAOC Torrejón, lieutenant general Fernando de la Cruz, participated on March 9th & 10th in the NATO Air Chiefs' Symposium (NACS) meeting at NATO's Air Component Command Headquarters in Ramstein, Germany.

The meeting, which is held twice a year, is attended by heads of NATO member nations' air and space forces, as well as the commanding generals of NATO Command Structure (NCS) units and representatives of NATO Partner Nations. 

This year's first edition provided an opportunity to assess the contribution of aerospace power to strategic security, to address current issues in the aerospace domain and to promote areas for further cooperation and integration among NATO member nations. 

COMBINED AIR OPERATIONS CENTRE TORREJÓN

The main mission of CAOC Torrejón, under the direct command of a Lieutenant General of the Spanish Air Force, is to plan, direct, coordinate, supervise, analyse and report on air defence operations in Southern Europe, following the directives of the NATO Air Component Command on which it depends and with the resources assigned to NATO by the nations in peacetime.

The Spanish Armed Forces make an important contribution to the mission carried out by this centre. Roughly 120 Spanish military personnel serve in the CAOC itself as well as in the National Support Element (NSE) and NATO Communications and Information Agency Unit (NCIA).