NATO Allies practise beach landings to enhance Agile Combat Employment
NATO Allied Air Command
Aug 19 2025
RAMSTEIN, Germany -- On 14 August 2025, a Norwegian C-130J Super Hercules landed on Denmark's Lakolk Beach for the first time, highlighting the Royal Norwegian Air Force's Agile Combat Employment (ACE) efforts.
The event brought together aircraft and aircrews from Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Norway and Sweden, and in support of NATO's commitment to flexible, dispersed air operations under ACE.
ACE enhances operational resilience by enabling Allied aircraft to operate from alternative landing zones — including beaches, highways and remote airstrips — ensuring mission continuity even if traditional air bases become compromised.
"This is the first time a Norwegian Hercules aircraft has performed such a landing - an important milestone in the Air Force's work with Agile Combat Employment (ACE)," the Royal Norwegian Air Force stated in an official release.
The short runway landings provided critical training for crews from multiple Allied nations, sharpening their skills in deploying aircraft and equipment in austere environments. The Danish-led initiative aims to refine operational procedures for tactical transport on unconventional surfaces.
"What we train on is simply doing short-run landings on 'unprepared surface'," said Major Geir Magnussen, a pilot with the Royal Norwegian Air Force. "That is, anything other than asphalt. The runway is right down to the minimum length of what we can tolerate and use with transport aircraft. We then fly at lower speeds than normal, and the goal is to land within a marked box that is only 500 feet long," Magnussen added.
These joint efforts demonstrate the Alliance's commitment to readiness and interoperability and reflect NATO's capacity to adapt swiftly, operate flexibly and reinforce deterrence — wherever and whenever required.
Story by Allied Air Command Public Affairs Office
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