From 17 to 31 October 2025, Lanzarote, Spain, will host the next edition of the European Air Refuelling Training (EART), a cornerstone exercise in the evolution of multinational air-to-air refuelling operations. Integrated with the Spanish-led Ocean Sky 2025 exercise, EART 2025 will continue to enhance NATO-standard interoperability among allied air forces while fostering operational excellence in a strategically important southern European region.
Under the coordination of the European Air Transport Command (EATC), this year’s exercise will bring together a diverse mix of tanker and transport aircraft, including:
The exercise will focus on refining advanced air-to-air refuelling tactics, increasing mission readiness, and supporting complex multinational air operations in a realistic and dynamic training environment.
In line with EATC’s broader strategic objectives, EART 2025 will also advance innovation and sustainability through the Lighthouse Project’s X-maintenance pillar, encouraging cross-national collaboration in aircraft maintenance and reinforcing the resilience of deployed operations. The establishment of a Combined Air Terminal Operation (CATO) in Lanzarote will further support the exercise’s logistical framework, optimizing throughput and coordination among participating nations.
Building on the success of EART 2024 in Alaska, which saw allied crews train under challenging Arctic conditions and in conjunction with German-US fighter exercises, EART 2025 reaffirms Europe’s commitment to strategic mobility, operational readiness, and transnational defence cooperation. The exercise demonstrates that the strength of allied air power lies in seamless collaboration, shared expertise, and unified readiness across theatres.
EART 2025 promises an unmatched training environment, uniting allied tanker and transport crews in a shared mission to ensure Europe’s air mobility capabilities remain agile, interoperable, and forward-looking.