NATO’s E-3A Airborne Warning and Control System aircraft fleet is stationed at the Geilenkirchen base in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.
On Friday, NATO military alliance announced that a German air force base is still on high alert due to a “potential threat” based on intelligence reports.
Located four miles west of the town of Geilenkirchen in North Rhine-Westphalia, near the Dutch border, the military facility has heightened its alert level at night.
At 10:37 p.m. local time on Thursday, NATO AWACS account on the social media platform X posted a notice stating, “Intelligence indicates a potential threat, and we have consequently enhanced the security level at the Geilenkirchen NATO Air Base.”
The announcement mentioned that as a preventive measure, all non-mission essential personnel had been sent home, with the safety of the staff being the top priority while operations continue as planned.
A spokesperson confirmed that on Friday morning, both the base and the town of Geilenkirchen remained on high alert.
The base spokesperson told Reuters reporters, “We are still at ‘Charlie alert status,’ which is the second-highest of the four alert states.”
The definition of “Charlie security level” is described as “an event has occurred, or intelligence indicates a high likelihood of some form of terrorist action against NATO personnel or organization.”
The spokesperson added that as a precautionary measure, the base where the NATO E-3A fleets are stationed is operating with minimal staff but planned actions are proceeding as usual.
According to DPA reports, police cars were visible inside the air force base.
Local police confirmed the deployment of forces on Thursday night but did not provide specific details, with no updates observed on Friday morning.
The base spokesperson clarified that the recent heightened security level at the base is unrelated to the brief increase last week, following reports of a suspected sabotage of water supply at a military base near Cologne.
On the same day as the Cologne incident, an attempted illegal entry was reported at the Geilenkirchen base, prompting a comprehensive search of the facility.
The German military later declared the Cologne base safe, confirming that water testing showed no contamination.
NATO had previously warned of a series of hostile activities by Russia, including sabotage and cyber attacks, while Moscow often accuses NATO of threatening its security.
In June of this year, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg stated that the military alliance has observed a pattern of evolving activities, with recent attacks being the result of increased activities by Russian intelligence services.
Several incidents on NATO territory in recent years have raised suspicions among analysts, including the 2022 cutting of a crucial underwater cable connecting Svalbard and mainland Norway.
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