NATO air bases are on high alert due to potential terrorist threats
Security remains on high alert at the NATO air base in Geilenkirchen, Germany, following intelligence reports of a “potential threat” on August 23. Located near the Dutch border, the Base Geilenkirchen Air Base hosts NATO Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) aircraft. A late-night post on August 22 from the AWACS team’s social media account said: “We have increased our security levels.
One attendee confirmed that the base is currently on the second highest alert level of four, indicating “an incident has occurred or intelligence indicates there is a high likelihood of some form of activity occurring.” terrorism targeting NATO facilities or personnel.”
As a precaution, the base houses a fleet of AWACS surveillance aircraft that are operating with minimal personnel while operations continue as planned.
On August 23, Geilenkirchen Air Base reiterated that the situation remained unchanged and “operations continue as planned.”
The hasty warning came just a week after a major German air base near Cologne was locked down for several hours amid concerns about possible interference with the base’s water supply. On the same day, Geilenkirchen also reported an illegal break-in, prompting a thorough inspection of the facility.
Regarding the suspected sabotage at the Cologne base, the German military later issued a safety notice saying tests showed that tap water was not contaminated.
In recent years, several incidents on NATO territory have raised suspicions among analysts, including the severing of a key submarine cable connecting Svalbard to mainland Norway in 2022.
