For the first time, France, Poland and the United States have taken part in the General Officers Steering Committee (GOSC) of the Extended Air Defence Task Force (EADTF) between 13 and 17 February 2012.
These countries wish to eventually become full members of this German-Dutch organisation, which operates in the area of missile defence. The American air base in Ramstein, Germany, is EADTF’s home base.
After the establishment of EADTF in 1998, the initial emphasis was on improvement of cooperation between the users of the Patriot surface-to-air defence system. Over the years, EADTF has developed into an organisation with operational planning capacity for ballistic missile defence.
The organisation has gained international recognition as a knowledge and training centre in this area. After the United States had withdrawn as the third participant in 2008, the EADTF based itself in Ramstein in order to strengthen its cooperation with NATO.
[mappress] Naval Today Staff , February 22, 2012; Image: defensie