Baltic air policing ( eng. Baltic Air Policing , in NATO 's Russian-language materials “ The NATO Airspace Patrol Mission of the Baltic States ” [1] ) - a NATO program to protect the airspace of the three Baltic states since 2004: Latvia , Lithuania , Estonia .
| Airspace patrol over the Baltic countries | |
|---|---|
 Two French Mirage 2000 during a mission to patrol airspace over the Baltic countries in 2010 | |
| date | March 30, 2004 - present |
| A place | Lithuania , Latvia and Estonia |
| Total | goes on |
Content
History
With the entry of the Baltic states into NATO, an operation began to protect the airspace of these states, which is part of a single NATO space. This mission is carried out alternately by NATO countries. The permanent base of the mission is the Lithuanian First Air Base at the Siauliai International Airport. Since 2014, mission aircraft began to be based at the second permanent Emari base in Estonia .
Mission
Starting March 31, 2006, the country’s mission duration has been increased from 3 months to 4 months. By 2013, 14 countries out of 28 NATO members participated in the operation. From 2014, Canada is planned to participate, from 2015 Hungary, Italy. Usually, participating countries send 4 fighter planes and 50-100 ground personnel to the mission. Two aircraft are on alert, two in reserve. Initially, the duration of the mission is determined by 2018 with a likely continuation. The Baltic countries cover part of the cost of the mission, paying 3,000,000 euros annually. NATO has spent over 7.000.000 euros on the modernization of the base.
Due to the crisis in Crimea in March 2014 and the “threat of Russian aggression on the territory of the former Soviet republics,” the United States increased its participation in the mission to 6 F-15 fighters and a KC-135 tanker aircraft. In April 2014, an Estonian base at Emari was included in the mission. Since May 1, 2014, the mission was carried out by the Polish and British air forces at the base in Siauliai and the Danish Air Force in Emari. Total 12 aircraft.
From January to April 2017, air patrols were transferred from the French mission to the Netherlands. As part of NATO’s 43rd rotation, the Royal Netherlands Air Intelligence Unit, under the command of Major Herth, was on alert in the skies over Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia. The aircraft were based at Šiauliai airbase in Lithuania [2] .
Related Missions
In addition to the Baltic states, due to the lack of their own air forces, similar missions relate to Luxembourg (covering the Belgian air force ), Slovenia (covering the Hungarian or Italian air forces ), Albania (covering the Italian or Greek air forces ), Iceland (covering the US and Scandinavian air forces during the Icelandic Air Force mission Police (Icelandic Air Policing): On May 1, 2014, France sent 4 Dassault Rafale aircraft to a base in Malbork, and Canada 6 CF-18 Hornet to a base in Romania.
See also
- Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker
- Icelandic Air Policing
Notes
- ↑ Spain and Belgium assume the leadership of the NATO mission to patrol the airspace of the Baltic countries . NATO (2016).
- ↑ The Netherlands takes lead of NATO's Baltic Air Policing mission , NATO (January 5, 2017).
Links
- German fighters take over Baltic skies
- A Mission in the Interest of the Whole Alliance. PISM Bulletin No 88 (421), September 21, 2012
- NATO jets from Lithuania helped shadow Russian planes near Sweden
- Three years of NATO Baltic Air Policing
- Baltic Air Policing: A Mission in the Interest of the Whole Alliance