NATO extends enhanced Baltic Air Policing
NATO will continue its bulked-up Baltic air policing, sending a fresh rotation of fighters to both Estonia and Lithuania after the current rotations end in early 2015, alliance officials announced.
“Today’s Baltic air policing mission requires both high readiness and interoperability,” said NATO air command boss, US Air Force General Frank Gorenc.
Russian aggression in Ukraine prompted NATO to augment its alert mission with additional fighters in Lithuania and several new alert bases back in April. A detachment of Portuguese F-16s, buttressed by Royal Canadian Air Force CF-18s, has been stationed at Šiauliai air base in Lithuania since September.
German fighters are covering allied airspace from Ämari air base in Estonia, and Dutch F-16s are deployed to a third alert location at Malbork air base in Poland, according to allied officials.
