380 Squadron Returns From Norway Exercise

The 25 HAF personnel were there along with one of the squadron's four EMBRAER EMB-145H Erieye AWACS aircraft for ten days.

“Unified Vision 2014” is NATO’s biggest ever trial of Joint Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (JISR), comprising satellites, aircraft, unmanned aerial vehicles, naval vessels, ground sensors and human intelligence from 18 NATO Allies.

Unified Vision 2014 (UV14) took place in Norway from 18-28 May aiming to test NATO’s ability to gather information and fuse intelligence from multiple sources – from space, in the air, on land and at sea – at different stages of a crisis. In the scenario, the crisis is initially local and then it gradually escalates into a full-blown international conflict. All the while, very different ISR capabilities were expected to perform in testing situations, stretching their ability to function properly in complex environments.

After the shortfalls observed during the NATO-led Operation Unified Protector in Libya in 2011, improving NATO’s ability to coordinate and deploy Allied ISR capability is crucial.

UV14 was held at Ørland Main Air Station, Norway, where Unified Vision 2012 was also hosted. There were approximately 2000 participants from 18 member countries: Belgium, Canada, the Czech Republic, Estonia, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Romania, Spain, Turkey, the United Kingdom and the United States. Australia is also participating as part of the Trial’s Assessment Team, while both Sweden and Finland are contributing observers.