Nato will send an surveillance plane to Rome to protect Italian airspace during the Pope's funeral, an alliance spokesman said today.
He said the move was at the request of the Italians who were concerned about the security risk posed by the "unprecedented gathering of world leaders" for the pontiff's burial tomorrow.
"NATO will deploy an Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) aircraft and the purpose of it is to give the Italian government visibility of what is going on in their air space," he said.
One AWACS operating at 30,000 feet can provide radar coverage out to a distance greater than 200 miles and generate a clear picture of aircraft movements from high to low altitude.
Kings, queens and heads of state and government from across the world are descending on Rome for Friday's funeral of Pope John Paul, who died on Saturday.