NATO massed roughly 25 aircraft near Russia’s Kaliningrad exclave on August 18, including US and Norwegian fighters, an AWACS, the rare EA-37B Compass Call electronic warfare aircraft, and Apache attack helicopters.
The package flew orbits over northeastern Poland focused on the electromagnetic environment around Kaliningrad.
NATO framed it as planned training for interoperability and deterrence, not a response to any specific Russian action.
The operation continued over subsequent days and was first flagged by OSINT flight trackers before official confirmation.
Source: @ItaMilRadar
— @clashreport Aug 21, 2026
