US helicopters to practice in Estonian air space
The UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters of the United States Army arrived at the Amari air base on Sunday and may be seen flying around the air base, the central training grounds of the Estonian defense forces and the town of Tapa this week.
The main task of the helicopters is to cooperate with members of the Estonian defense forces. The pilots will be doing everything possible to disturb people's daily lives as little as possible, military spokespeople said.
The helicopters belong to the 101st Combat Aviation Brigade of the United States Army and are based in Lielvarde, Latvia. The helicopters will return to Latvia on September 18.
The UH-60 Black Hawk multi-purpose military helicopter belongs to the S-70 family of helicopters developed by the Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation. Black Hawk is used for air strikes, transporting units, evacuating the wounded, battle management and other tasks.
NATO member states allocate certain parts of their air space for air force exercises and drills, including low-altitude flights. Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania have also allocated areas in their air space for low-altitude flights. Low-altitude flights are performed in agreement with the Civil Aviation Administration and Lennuliiklusteeninduse AS.
German Air Force jets to conduct training flights in Estonian airspace
German fighter jets stationed at the ämari air base in northwestern Estonia as part of NATO's Baltic air policing mission will perform training flights in Estonian airspace this week.
The German Eurofighter Typhoon jets will be flying at an altitude of at least 152 meters in low-altitude flight areas and higher than 304 meters in densely populated areas, spokespeople for the Estonian defense forces said.
NATO member states allocate specific areas of their air space for the training and exercises of the air force, including low-altitude flights. Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania have also allocated specific regions of their air space for carrying out low-altitude flights.
In addition to the German Air Force contingent stationed at Amari, a second air detachment of the NATO Baltic air policing mission is based at the Siauliai air base in Lithuania, where the Italian Air Force is carrying out its rotation also with Eurofighter Typhoon jets.
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Editor: Helen Wright
