Russian President Vladimir Putin’s forces dramatically escalated their shadow war against NATO on Wednesday, with the U.K. warning “military options” were on the table after a spy ship blinded air force pilots with lasers.

Weapons were deployed against drones spotted above an air force base in the Netherlands, where Nato recently held its nuclear deterrence drills. The incident happened over Volkel Air Base, in the southeastern province of Noord Brabant, near the border with Germany, between 7pm and 9pm on Friday.

While the U.S. has taken part in previous iterations of the military exercise, this year's U.S. footprint was smaller as allied nations are pressed by the Trump administration to put more into European defense.

BRUSSELS (AP) — NATO is stepping up aerial surveillance in the Baltic Sea, while France, Germany and Sweden are bolstering Denmark’s air defenses ahead of two summits in Copenhagen this week over a series of troubling drone incidents near the country ...

The U.K. Carrier Strike Group, led by HMS Prince of Wales (R09), achieved full operating capability during NATO exercise Falcon Strike last week, more than a year and a half since the carrier took over as flagship of the strike group.

An Air Force B-52H Stratofortress assigned to the 2nd Bomb Wing at Barksdale Air Force Base, La., prepares to land at Moron Air Base, Spain, Nov. 8, 2025, as part of Bomber Task Force 26-1. (Codie Trimble/ U.S. Air Force)

After selecting the Boeing 737-based E-7 Wedgetail in 2023 to replace the E-3 Sentry, the group of nations leading the procurement of NATO's next airborne

NATO Allied Joint Force Command Norfolk (JFCNF) posted dramatic footage on Tuesday, Nov. 18, of Norwegian submarine KNM Uthaug torpedoing the decommissioned warship KNM Trondheim and destroying the ship in an exercise. The action was taken as part of the Aegir 25 exercise, which took place off the coast of Andfjorden, a fjord in Norway.

The other top U.S. military command positions in Europe remain four-star billets for now. That includes U.S. European Command, led by Air Force Gen. Alexus Grynkewich, who has a dual-hatted role as NATO Supreme Allied Commander Europe.