Exercise Real Thaw

[2] The first official Real Thaw took place in 2009 and has since been coordinated and hosted by the BA5 personnel, and involves ground-attack, close air support, combat search and rescue, tactical transport, Composite Air Operations (COMAO), personnel recovery, slow mover protection, high value airborne asset (HVAA) protection, convoy escort and electronic warfare operations.

International participation in the exercise was composed of Joint terminal attack controller teams from the United States, four F-16 fighters from the Royal Danish Air Force, four EF-18A fighters from the Spanish Air Force's Ala 15 and a NATO E-3A Sentry AWACS.

The United States and The Netherlands with Forward Air Controllers (FAC); Falcon 20 from the Cobham Team and E-3A AWACS.

So, the next two weeks will be very active here in Portugal with this military exercise, and a spotter's day next 26 February at Beja Air Base.

This year's edition will involve, in addition to the Air Force, the Navy and the Army, the participation of forces from Belgium, Denmark, Spain, The Netherlands and the United States of America and also NATO air resources, in a total of 42 aircraft and about 3500 military personnel.

This multidisciplinary exercise aims to enhance joint training and provide participants with a wide range of tactical missions, with the intention of sharing knowledge, increasing integration, promoting innovation and strengthening ties between NATO partners.

This exercise aims to enhance joint and combined training in order to provide participants with a wide range of tactical missions.