The European Air Transport Command (EATC) will deploy a core team to Volkel Air Base, the Netherlands, from 3 to 7 November 2025, to conduct a Proof-of-Concept for deployed operations.
This initiative aims to demonstrate that EATC can continue its mission planning, tasking, and monitoring effectively from a location other than its main headquarters in Eindhoven. The deployment will validate EATC’s ability to operate under dispersed conditions, ensuring business continuity and operational resilience in the event of contingencies affecting its primary site.
This effort supports EATC’s strategic objective to enhance flexibility, readiness, and redundancy — key factors for modern air mobility operations within a dynamic security environment.
The initiative also responds to a broader observation shared during a recent NATO AIRCOM meeting: air mobility and “feeding the fight” require greater focus within the Alliance’s operational framework. Large-scale operations depend heavily on experienced Airlift Subject Matter Experts (SMEs), who remain in short supply across NATO structures.
By establishing a deployable expeditionary core element, EATC takes a proactive step to address this gap. The Deployed EATC (D-EATC) will serve as a rapidly available pool of Air Mobility SMEs, capable of supporting strategic and operational commands — including AIRCOM — at short notice.
More to come — stay tuned!