NATO Tries to 'Euro-ify' Its Jets on Euro Banknotes

NATO's Airborne Early Warning and Control (AWACS) Force has sparked controversy on social media by posting images of American military aircraft on potential Euro banknotes.

The posts, which were intended to be tongue-in-cheek, featured a US-made Boeing E-3 Sentry AWACS aircraft on the €20 note accompanied by two F-16s. The NATO unit asked in a caption, 'What if the new European banknotes had a little more...air superiority?'

The posts received mixed reactions online, with some interpreting them as an expression of Europe's vassal status to the US. Self-described 'Eurasian sovereignist' Mats Nilsson described them as a 'coordinated NATO psy-op trying to tie NATO to the EU.'

The European Central Bank is currently holding a public survey on its forthcoming euro banknotes, with variants showing historical figures and native European birds making the shortlist. The survey closes in late September, and a winner will be chosen by the end of 2026. The notes will be printed and circulated in 2030 or 2031.