Australian Spy Plane Completes 45 NATO Missions for Ukraine

Australia’s most advanced surveillance aircraft, the Royal Australian Air Force E-7A Wedgetail, has completed 45 missions near Ukraine over the past three months as part of NATO’s intelligence and monitoring operations amid Russia’s ongoing invasion reports ABC News.

The missions, now publicly confirmed, were carried out by an Australian crew based in Poland and formed part of NATO’s coordinated efforts to track Russian military movements and bolster regional security. The team is now returning home to RAAF Base Williamtown, near Newcastle.

A senior NATO official revealed that the Wedgetail was airborne during a Russian MiG fighter jet incursion into Estonian airspace on 19 September, and again on the night of 28 September, when Ukraine came under one of its heaviest drone and missile barrages since the 2022 invasion began.

According to the official, around half of the Wedgetail’s flights were reactive missions responding to potential threats, while the rest were pre-planned patrols, many of them monitoring aid supply routes into Ukraine.

The E-7A Wedgetail, equipped with a 400-kilometre radar range, provided NATO with real-time reconnaissance data and intelligence from long distances. Details of its operations remain classified — “we don’t want Russia to know what we can see and sense,” the official said.

The aircraft and part of its crew landed on Wednesday at Melsbroek Airbase in Brussels, marking the end of their deployment.

During a press conference at NATO headquarters, Secretary General Mark Rutte praised Australia’s contribution, calling it “crucial and highly valued.”

“This very practical cooperation is really crucial, and I highly value that relationship with your proud nation,” he said in response to a question from the ABC.

Rutte emphasised the importance of cooperation between NATO and Indo-Pacific partners such as Australia, New Zealand, Japan, and South Korea, highlighting the growing strategic link between the Euro-Atlantic and Indo-Pacific regions.

“If China were to act against Taiwan,” Rutte warned, “it’s likely that Putin would be pushed by Xi Jinping to move against NATO — so we must stay ready and work together.”