The prime minister made her remarks after a visit to Ämari Air Base Wednesday, announcing that the current German Air Force contingent on rotation there will be joined by Belgian personnel and planes also.

Kallas said: "I thank Germany and Belgium for their contribution to strengthening the deterrence and defense posture on NATO's Eastern Flank. Germany is one of the allies that has contributed the most to the Baltic States' air security, and is also the lead nation in the NATO battle group in Lithuania."

"NATO is more united than ever before in its readiness to defend the entire alliance," the prime minister went on, via a government office press release.

Kallas also highlighted Germany's decision to boost its defense spending to 2 percent of GDP per annum. "If Germany is strong, Europe is also strong," she said.

The German Air Force is equipped with Eurofighter Typhoons (pictured) and the current rotation arrived in August. As has happened in the past, the deployment will cover two back-to-back rotations, and will be joined by F-16 Fighting Falcons from the Belgian Air Force, which has also conducted the NATO Baltic Air Policing mission in the past.

The mission is wholly separate from the NATO enhanced Forward Presence (eFP) Battlegroup based at Tapa, though as noted the Lithuanian counterpart battlegroup is also German-led.

--

Follow ERR News on Facebook and Twitter and never miss an update!