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RAMSTEIN, Germany - Spain, France and the United Kingdom will take up NATO's Baltic Air Policing mission from May to August 2020, securing the skies over NATO's three Baltic members for the next four months.

The members of the 53rd rotation assuring NATO's Baltic Air Policing (clockwise from top): Spanish Air Force with F-18 fighter aircraft, Royal Air Force with Typhoon fighter aircraft both at Sliauliai, Lithuania, and the French Air Force with Mirage 2000-5 at Ämari Air Base, Estonia. Collage from archive imagery.

The three NATO Allies are replacing air force detachments from Belgium and Poland which have protected the airspace over Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania since January. The Spanish and British air force contingents will operate out of Siauliai airbase in Lithuania, while the French air force will fly from Amari in Estonia. Spain is the lead nation for the mission. 

“We thank Spain, France and the United Kingdom for taking over NATO’s Baltic Air Policing mission”, said NATO spokesperson Oana Lungescu. “This 24/7 mission demonstrates that our commitment to the security of our Allies is rock-solid and that our vital work goes on despite the coronavirus pandemic,” she stressed. 

The mission which has been running since 2004 took on greater prominence following Russia’s illegal annexation of Ukraine’s Crimea in 2014. NATO aircraft frequently intercept Russian military aircraft near the Baltic States which frequently fail to adhere to international air safety norms. In 2019, Allied jets attached to NATO’s Baltic Air Policing mission scrambled around 200 times to safeguard allied airspace.