Lieutenant General Rubén Servert, Commander of NATO’s southern Combined Air Operations Centre at Torrejón, Spain, visited Skopje, North Macedonia, to meet with North Macedonian authorities.
With North Macedonia to become NATO’s 30th member nation in the near future, the purpose of the visit was to discuss the integration of the country’s air defence systems into NATO’s Integrated Air and Missile Defence System.
According to the Alliance:
“Discussions at Skopje were held with the State Secretary in the Ministry of Defence, Mr. Dragan Nikolic, the Chief of the General Staff, Lieutenant General Vasko Gjurchinovski and the Air Force Commander, Colonel Stojko Pejovski. A particular focus of the meetings was laid on the ability of North Macedonia’s Air Force to interoperate with NATO Air Forces as well as with those of other NATO partner nations. The agreement on technical standards in order to be able to exchange data and information is a key aspect of a successful integration into NATO’s Air Defence.
Further subjects covered were the training and exercise involvement of North Macedonian Air Force personnel as well as the integration of a North Macedonian officer into the Combined Air Operations Centre’s staff.”
“Full integration of NATO countries into NATO’s Integrated Air and Missile Defence System and the unity of effort in the Air domain are the best examples of cohesion and solidarity among Allies. That explains clearly the essential role of NATO in today’s world” Lieutenant General Servert comments on the successful conclusion of the meeting.
“North Macedonian Authorities demonstrate an unwavering desire to have their forces fully integrated and to quickly become an active contributor to the protection of NATO airspace” he added in a news release.
NATO’s Integrated Air and Missile Defence System is the command and control network of interconnected systems for monitoring and detecting aircraft, as well as for their interception by air assets or surface-based weapon systems.
Ooooooohhhhhhh……..Mr Putin won’t like that at all, he’ll throw a strop about it and complain about Russia being further hemmed in and surrounded by NATO forces.