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NATO "Almost Certain" to Provide AWACS at World Cup

DW staff / AFP (nda)January 30, 2006

NATO is almost certain to deploy AWACS surveillance planes to provide air defense cover for the 2006 World Cup in Germany, seen as a key potential terrorist target, officials said Monday.

https://p.dw.com/p/7sH1
Spy in the sky: The World Cup is likely to be policed from aboveImage: AP

German Defense Minister Franz Josef Jung said NATO chief Jaap de Hoop Scheffer was "very positive" about a suggestion that the military alliance could help protect the June 9-July 9 championships.

A NATO official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said no official request had yet been made. But he said: "Once the Germans send a formal request, there will be no doubt that NATO will send the AWACS."

Easy deployment dependent on official request

Some 18 AWACS (Airborne Warning and Control System) planes are under NATO command stationed at a base in Geilenkirchen, western Germany, and could be easily deployed, according to a German press report earlier this month.

The eye-catching planes -- with a mushroom-shaped surveillance unit on their backs -- were used in 2004 for the Athens Olympics and the Euro-2004 football championships in Portugal, as well as for a papal visit to Cologne last year.

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