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NATO and Allies responded overnight to alert

NATO Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE)

Aug 19 2025

MONS, Belgium -- An overnight alert prompted NATO and Allied air forces to rapidly respond in efforts to ensure the defence of NATO territories.

Poland's operational command announced early this morning on X that its forces others were on alert after Russian aircraft again launched missile attacks on Ukrainian territory, killing innocent civilians. A few hours later they posted that the alerted forces returned to standard readiness levels and that no violations on Polish airspace occurred. They also thanked NATO's Allied Air Command (AIRCOM) and Sweden's air force, whose fighters responded.

Sweden and Poland were not, however, the only countries to respond. German Patriots responded, as did an aerial refueler from the Multinational Multi-Role Tanker Transport (MRTT) aircraft fleet.

"These forces from these nations and more are helping to protect the logistics node in Poland used for military and civilian support to Ukraine, with the missions carried out under NATO command, said U.S. Army Col. Martin L. O'Donnell, Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe spokesperson. "This follows NATO taking over air defence responsibilities from the U.S. earlier this year."

Lithuania's crisis response centre received a shared air picture from NATO throughout this entire alert period. This follows an agreement earlier this month for NATO to provide additional assistance to protect Lithuania's airspace following two drone incidents last month when unmanned aerial vehicles entered Lithuania from Belarus.

This was the first time such additional intelligence information sharing with Lithuania took place during an alert.

"NATO, Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe, and all of Allied Command Operations is committed to defending every inch of NATO territory, including our airspace," said O'Donnell.

SHAPE is the military headquarters of ACO.

Story by SHAPE Public Affairs Office