Sweden leads Icelandic air policing mission for first time

Six Swedish Air Force Saab Gripen fighters will be conducting NATO's air policing of Iceland from January to mid-March 2026. (Swedish Armed Forces)

The Swedish Air Force (SwAF) has assumed the leadership role for NATO's air policing mission in Iceland for the first time.

A detachment of six Saab JAS 39 Gripen C combat aircraft supported by a NATO Airbus KC-30M Multi-Role Tanker Transport (MRTT) aircraft deployed to Keflavík Air Base in early February. The more than 100 personnel from the SwAF's Skaraborg Air Wing F7 will perform quick reaction alert (QRA) air policing duties over the island through to mid-March.

“This rotation … represents the first time the Swedish Air Force have led NATO's Icelandic air policing mission since their accession to NATO in March 2024,” NATO Allied Air Command said on 6 February. “Air policing is a cornerstone of NATO's collective defence posture, since 2008 Allied air forces have periodically deployed to Iceland, to provide Airborne Surveillance and Interception Capabilities to meet Iceland's Peacetime Preparedness Needs, also known as the ASIC IPPN mission.”

During their air policing tenure, the Swedish Gripens will conduct armed air defence under the direction of the Keflavík Main Command Centre and the NATO Combined Air Operations Centre (CAOC) in Uedem, Germany.