The NATO Integrated Air Defense System (short: NATINADS) is a command and control network combining radars and other facilities spread throughout the NATO alliance's air defence forces. It formed in the mid-1950s and became operational in 1962 as NADGE. It has been constantly upgraded since its formation, notably with the integration of airborne early warning aircraft in the 1970s. The United Kingdom maintained its own network, but was fully integrated with the network since the introduction of the Linesman/Mediator network in the 1970s. Similarly, the German network maintained an independent nature through GEADGE.

Development

Development was approved by the NATO Military Committee in December 1955. The system was to be based on four air defense regions (ADRs) coordinated by the Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR). Starting from 1956 early warning coverage was extended across Western Europe using 18 radar stations. This part of the system was completed by 1962. Linked to existing national radar sites, the coordinated system was called the NATO Air Defence Ground Environment (NADGE).

From 1960 NATO countries agreed to place all their air defence forces under the command of SACEUR in the event of war. These forces included command and control (C2) systems, radar installations, and Surface-to-Air (SAM) missile units as well as interceptor aircraft.

By 1972 NADGE was converted into NATINADS consisting of 84 radar sites and associated Control Reporting Centres (CRC) and in the 1980s the Airborne Early Warning / Ground Environment Integration Segment (AEGIS) upgraded the NATINADS with the possibility to integrate the AWACS radar picture and all of its information into its visual displays. (NOTE: This AEGIS is not to be confused with the U.S.Navy AEGIS, a shipboard fire control radar and weapons system.) AEGIS processed the information through Hughes H5118ME computers, which replaced the H3118M computers installed at NADGE sites in the late 1960s and early 1970s.

NATINADS ability to handle data increased with faster clock rates. The H5118M computer had a staggering 1 megabyte of memory and could handle 1.2 million instructions per second while the former model had a memory of only 256 kilobytes and a clock speed of 150,000 instructions per seconds.

NATINADS/AEGIS were complemented, in West Germany by the German Air Defence Ground Environment (GEADGE), an updated radar network adding the southern part of Germany to the European system and Coastal Radar Integration System (CRIS), adding data links from Danish coastal radars.

In order to counter the hardware obsolescence, during the mid-1990s NATO started the AEGIS Site Emulator (ASE) program allowing the NATINADS/AEGIS sites to replace the proprietary hardware (the 5118ME computer and the various operator consoles IDM-2, HMD-22, IDM-80) with commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) servers and workstations.

In the first years 2000, the initial ASE capability was expanded with the possibility to run, thanks to the new hardware power, multiple site emulators on the same hardware, so the system was renamed into Multi-AEGIS Site Emulator (MASE). The NATO system designed to replace MASE in the near future is the Air Command and Control System (ACCS).

Because of changing politics, NATO expanding and financial crises most European (NATO) countries are trying to cut defence budgets; as a direct result, many obsolete and outdated NATINADS facilities are phased out earlier. As of 2013, operational NATO radar sites in Europe are as follows:

Allied Air Command Allied Air Command (AIRCOM) is the military formation directing all NATO-assigned air forces. Many other air units remain under the control of their state authorities. The command is based at Ramstein Air Base in Germany and has three subordinate air operations centres in Germany, Spain and Norway.

Allied Air Command, at Ramstein Air Base, Germany CAOC Torrejón, at Torrejón Air Base, Spain - responsible for the airspace South of the Alps Albania: Air Surveillance Centre, at Tirana International Airport Bulgaria: Air Sovereignty Operations Centre, in Sofia Croatia: Airspace Surveillance Centre, in Podvornica Greece: Air Operations Centre, at Larissa Air Base Hungary: Air Operations Centre, in Veszprém Italy: National Air and Space Operations Centre, in Poggio Renatico Montenegro: Air Surveillance and Reporting Centre, at Podgorica Airport North Macedonia: Air Surveillance and Reporting Battalion, at Skopje Airport Portugal: Control and Reporting Centre, in Monsanto Romania: Air Operations Centre, in Balotești Slovenia: Airspace Surveillance and Control Centre, in Brnik Spain: Air Operations Centre, in Torrejón Central Command and Control Group, at Torrejón Air Base Northern Command and Control Group, at Zaragoza Air Base Turkey: Control and Reporting Centre, in Ahlatlıbel CAOC Uedem, in Uedem, Germany - responsible for the airspace North of the Alps Baltic Air Surveillance Network - Regional Airspace Surveillance Coordination Centre, in Karmėlava Estonia: Air Operations Control Centre, at Ämari Air Base Latvia: Air Operations Centre, at Lielvārde Air Base Lithuania: Airspace Control Centre, in Karmėlava Belgium: Control and Reporting Centre, at Beauvechain Air Base Czech Republic: Control and Reporting Centre, in Hlavenec Denmark: Control and Reporting Centre, at Karup Air Base France: Control and Reporting Centre, at Mont Verdun Air Base Germany: Air Operations Centre, in Uedem Control and Reporting Centre 2, in Erndtebrück Control and Reporting Centre 3, in Schönewalde Iceland: Control and Reporting Centre, at Keflavik Air Base Luxembourg: airspace controlled by Belgium's Control and Reporting Centre, at Beauvechain Air Base Netherlands: Control and Reporting Centre, in Nieuw-Milligen Poland: Air Operations Centre, in Warsaw-Pyry Slovakia: Air Operations Centre, at Sliač Air Base United Kingdom: Control and Reporting Centre, at RAF Boulmer CAOC Bodø, at Bodø Main Air Station, Norway - responsible for the airspace in the High North Finland: Air Operations Centre, at Jyväskylä Airport Norway: Control and Reporting Centre, in Sørreisa Sweden: Combat Control and Air Surveillance Command, at Ärna Air Base

Radar stations

Albania

The Albanian Air Force's Air Surveillance Centre is based in Rinas and the Air Force operates a Lockheed Martin AN/TPS-77 radar on top of Mida mountain near Pukë.

Belgium The Belgian Air Force's Control and Reporting Centre was based at Glons, where also its main radar was located. The radar was deactivated in 2015 and the Centre moved to Beauvechain Air Base in 2020. The Belgian Control and Reporting Centre reports to CAOC Uedem in Germany and is also responsible for guarding the airspace of Luxembourg. At the new location the Control and Reporting Centre uses digital radar data of the civilian radars of Belgocontrol and the Marconi S-723 radar of the Air Force's Air Traffic Control Centre in Semmerzake.

Bulgaria The Bulgarian Air Force's Air Sovereignty Operations Centre is located in Sofia and reports to CAOC Torrejón. The Bulgarian Air Force fields three control and surveillance zones, which operate obsolete Soviet-era radars. The Bulgarian Air Force intends to replace these radars with fewer, but more capable Western 3-D radars as soon as possible. The future locations of the new radars are as of 2018 unknown.

Joint Forces Command, in Sofia Air Sovereignty Operational Centre (ASOC), in Sofia Base Operative Centre (part of 3rd Air Base), Graf Ignatievo Air Base, operational control of fighter aviation Command, Control and Surveillance Base, in Sofia 1st Control and Surveillance Zone, in Bozhurishte, Sofia Province 2nd Control and Surveillance Zone, in Trud, Plovdiv Province 3rd Control and Surveillance Zone, in Bratovo, Burgas Province

Canada The Royal Canadian Air Force's control centres and radar stations are part of the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD).

Croatia

The Croatian Air Force and Air Defense's Airspace Surveillance Centre is headquartered in Podvornica and reports to CAOC Torrejón.

Air Force and Air Defense Command Airspace Surveillance and Control Battalion, at 91st Air Force Base (Zagreb - Pleso) Airspace Surveillance Centre, in Podvornica Sector Operational Centre, in Split Mount Sljeme Radar Post, with AN/FPS-117(E)1T Borinci Radar Post, with AN/FPS-117(E)1T Papuk Radar Post, with AN/FPS-117(E)1T Učka Radar Post, with AN/FPS-117(E)1T Mount Rota, with AN/FPS-117(E)1T

Czech Republic

The Czech Air Force's Control and Reporting Centre is located in Hlavenec and reports to CAOC Uedem.

Air Force Command, in Prague 26th Air Command, Control and Surveillance Regiment, in Stará Boleslav 261st Control and Reporting Centre (CRC), in Hlavenec 262nd Radio-technical Battalion, in Hlavenec 1st Radio-technical Company, in Nepolisy, with RAT-31DL 2nd Radio-technical Company, in Pomezí, with RL-5M 4th Radio-technical Company, in Sokolnice, with RAT-31DL 6th Radio-technical Company, in Planá, with RL-5M 263nd Support Battalion, in Hlavenec Reserve Control and Reporting Centre, in Větrušice

Denmark

The Royal Danish Air Force's Combined Air Operations Centre (CAOC 1) in Finderup was deactivated in 2008 and replaced at the same location by the Combined Air Operations Centre Finderup (CAOC F), which had responsibility for the airspaces of Iceland, Norway, Denmark and the United Kingdom. CAOC F was deactivated in 2013 and its responsibilities were transferred to CAOC Uedem in Germany. The national Danish Control and Reporting Centre is located at Karup Air Base and it reports to CAOC Uedem.

The Pituffik Space Base in Greenland is a United States Space Force installation and its radars are part of the North American Aerospace Defense Command and United States Space Command.

Air Force Tactical Command, at Karup Air Base Air Control Wing, at Karup Air Base Control and Reporting Centre, at Karup Air Base Radar Station Skrydstrup, at Skrydstrup Air Base, with AN/TPS-77 Radar Station Skagen, on Skagen island, with RAT-31DL (will be replaced by AN/TPY-4) Radar Station Bornholm, in Almindingen on Bornholm island, with Marconi S-723 (will be replaced by AN/TPY-4) Radar Station Sornfelli, on Streymoy island, (closed in 2010, will reopen and equipped with AN/TPY-4)

Estonia

The Estonian Air Force's Air Operations Control Centre is located at Ämari Air Base and reports to the Baltic Air Surveillance Network's Regional Airspace Surveillance Coordination Centre (RASCC) in Karmėlava, Lithuania, which in turn reports to CAOC Uedem.

Air Force Command, in Tallinn Air Surveillance Wing, at Ämari Air Base Air Operations Control Centre, at Ämari Air Base Engineering and Technical Group, at Ämari Air Base Radar Station, in Levalõpme, with GM 403 Radar Station, in Otepää, with GM 403 Radar Station, in Kellavere, with AN/TPS-77(V) Airport Surveillance Radar at Ämari Air Base, with ASR-8

Finland The Finnish Air Force's Air Operations Centre is located at Jyväskylä Airport, while the air force's control reporting centres are co-located with the Lapland Air Wing (5th Control and Reporting Centre) at Rovaniemi Airport and the Karelia Air Wing (7th Control and Reporting Centre) at Kuopio Airport. Finland operates five fixed radar sites with Thomson TRS 2215D (KAVA) radars and 13 mobile 13 GM 403 radars (KEVA 2010).

Air Operations Centre, at Jyväskylä Airport 5th Control and Reporting Centre, at Rovaniemi Airport 7th Control and Reporting Centre, at Kuopio Airport

France

The French Air and Space Force's Air Operations Centre is located at Mont Verdun Air Base and reports to CAOC Uedem. Most French radar sites use the PALMIER radar, which is being taken out of service. By 2022 all PALMIER radars were replaced with GM 403 radar.

Air Defense and Air Operations Command Air Operations Brigade, at Mont Verdun Air Base