NATO-TV

NATO’s Close Protection Unit for the Secretary General is made up of highly skilled and highly trained individuals. An anonymous team leader talks about the role of the bodyguard - or close protection officer - with special emphasis on advanced driving skills. Footage includes shots of bodyguards performing advanced driving skills on a closed airfield.

NATO has developed an international hub to face submarine emergencies, linking up 41 nations with the common aim of saving lives. Check out how it works.

The key to being at sea for a long time? Attention, intuition and chocolate according to navigation officer Lieutenant Farcaş.

Meet the men and women who work every day for NATO. From soldiers to scientists, cyber experts to civilian emergency responders, NATO members are committed to supporting and protecting each other.

Petty Officer 2nd Class Mert Çeltek joined the Turkish Navy as a diver following the footsteps of his uncle, who is also working in the Turkish Navy as a Marine. When underwater, he is much happier than above.

During exercise Dynamic Monarch 2017 off the Turkish coast, Mert worked with military submariners from eight other NATO countries to practise submarine search, escape and rescue.

Footage includes shots of Mert getting ready to dive, along with underwater shots of him participating in the drills during Dynamic Monarch 2017.

Quick Reaction Alert is a high state of readiness, maintained by NATO air crews to ensure the safety of Alliance airspace 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Fighter jets can be airborne within minutes to intercept and identify unknown aircraft operating within NATO airspace. Member countries provide the necessary aircraft and assets for the air policing of their own countries. For those countries that do not have this capability within or near NATO airspace, other NATO members will assist on a rotational basis.

NATO Allied Air Command (AIRCOM) provides 24/7 command and control from two Combined Air Operations Centres (CAOCs), one for the north and the other for the south of the Alliance. Portugal belongs to the CAOC in Torrejón, Spain. When needed, these Centres decide - according to the location of the incident - which interceptor will be scrambled.

The Portuguese Air Force shows us their QRA facilities at Monte Real Air Base and explains the state of readiness they have to maintain to be airborne within 15 minutes. On average, the Portuguese Air Force has 300 flight hours and carries out about 8-10 scrambles per year as part of the NATO CAOC in Torrejón.

“The aircraft won’t forgive any mistakes. It doesn’t matter if you are a man or a woman, we are all pilots,” says Lt Katarzyna Tomiak-Siemieniewicz, the first-ever female fighter pilot in the Polish Air Force.

Meet the men and women who work every day for NATO.

From soldiers to scientists, cyber experts to civilian emergency responders, NATO members are committed to supporting and protecting each other.

Lt Katarzyna Tomiak-Siemieniewicz is the first female MiG-29 fighter pilot in the Polish Air Force. In this video, she discusses her role as part of NATO’s air defence Quick Reaction Alert and being an inspiration for women.

Footage includes Lt Katarzyna Tomiak-Siemieniewicz and flying the MiG-29 fighter jet.

Lt Katarzyna Tomiak-Siemieniewicz is the first female MiG-29 fighter pilot in the Polish Air Force.

An international team of scientists from NATO member and partner countries met in rural Germany to carry out field trials on a variety of camouflage materials. The ultimate goal for the future, is creating camouflage systems able to elude hyperspectral cameras.

Research on camouflage is key to improving soldiers’ security and helping ensure success for their missions.

Footage includes interviews with a scientist, Marek Strandberg, NATO Science and Technology Organization, along with various shots of scientists at work in the field using hyperspectral camera systems. Drone footage of rural German forest.

The Model NATO Challenge took place on 28 March 2018 at Virginia Wesleyan University in Norfolk, Virginia.

The Model NATO Challenge is a scholarship competition where the top 29 high school applicants along with 6 alternates are chosen to participate in a mock global crisis simulation. Each student represented one of the 29 NATO member nations in the Challenge, which simulates real-world issues faced by today’s Alliance.

Student diplomats were assigned mentors - military officers from each of the 29 NATO member countries - who assisted in preparing the students for the Challenge while teaching them about their culture, national military resources and political backgrounds.

The top candidates will receive a scholarship award to be applied toward the college or university of their choice.

Footage includes images of the students and their military mentors during the Challenge, excerpts from students’ speeches, images of the audience and of the judges evaluating.

A year on from Montenegro joining NATO, NATO has started air patrols over the country which does not have its own fighter jets.

NATO Allies Italy and Greece have begun air patrols over Montenegro on 5 June 2018. Montenegro joined NATO in June last year. As the country does not have its own fighter planes, it has asked Allies to help secure its airspace. NATO air policing missions protect the skies of those Allies that do not have their own air force. There are currently several of these air policing missions across Europe. NATO air policing is a long-running, routine mission to safeguard the integrity of the Alliance’s airspace, a core task of NATO’s collective defense.

Footage includes various shots of Greek and Italian aircraft simulating an interception over Montenegro.