How has Nordic military cooperation transformed following the strategic shift represented by Sweden’s and Finland’s accession to NATO? Previous academic and professional military research has largely relied on open sources and descriptive historical analysis. This thesis addresses that gap by using elite interviews and inductive thematic analysis to examine how changing strategic conditions shape military cooperation. The findings show that Nordic air cooperation is rapidly shifting from coordination on non-operational activities to enabling operational capability for NATO in the Nordic region. Shared strategic interests, geographical proximity, historical ties, and similarities in strategic culture emerge as key enablers for deeper cooperation, despite differing national priorities. The study also highlights practical implications, particularly the need for early professional education in Nordic cooperation. The results contribute both empirical insight into early NATO-integration dynamics in the Nordic air domain and broader understanding of how regional military cooperation can evolve into an operational resource within an alliance framework.