NATO will begin flying surveillance aircraft over Germany on Wednesday to help protect the 2006 FIFA World Cup, which opens Friday and runs through 9 July, alliance officials announced Tuesday in Brussels.
The Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) planes will operate from their home base in Geilenkirchen, western Germany, and from RAF Waddington in central England. The modified Boeing 707 aircraft carry a large rotating radar dome capable of tracking air traffic at ranges exceeding 360 kilometers, including at low altitudes.
NATO described the deployment as providing "additional low-level coverage and radio relays" to supplement German air defenses during matches and ceremonies across the month-long, 64-game tournament.
The alliance, which maintains a fleet of 17 AWACS planes, has conducted similar aerial security operations since the September 2001 attacks in the United States, covering events such as the Olympic Games and a papal visit to Poland.
On the ground, thousands of German police will be backed by roughly 7,000 soldiers, among them units trained in biological warfare response, for the duration of the competition.
Historical summary. TurkishPress restated this wire report, first published in June 2006, in its own words.