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RAMSTEIN, Germany - Three Allies will continue to safeguard the airspace over the Baltic with their fighter aircraft demonstrating Alliance cohesion, solidarity and deterrence. Deployments start in May.  

Twoships from NATO Allies from the south are ready to take off under NATO's air policing mission in the Baltic region. From left to right: Spanish Air Force Eurofighters, Italian Air Force F-35s and Turkish Air Force F-16s. Photos courtesy the respective air forces.

Italian Air Force F-35 fighter aircraft from Amendola Air Base, Italy, will for the first time fly out of Ämari Air Base, Estonia, and augment the mission under enhanced Air Policing. This first fifth-generation aircraft deployment shows how NATO's air forces are adapting to the mission by employing advanced technology for enduring missions.   

From mid-May to September, the Turkish Air Force is scheduled to deploy their F-16 fighter aircraft and approx. 80 personnel from 6th Air Base at Bandirma, Turkey, to Malbork Air Base, Poland; after a deployment to Lithuania in 2006, the Turkish Air Force returns to the region to augment NATO’s enhanced Air Policing mission.

Three Allies from the South – Spain, Italy and Turkey – are supporting NATO’s Baltic Air Policing in the north demonstrating Alliance cohesion and solidarity. The Alliance is ready to continue providing security to the region through vigilance and deterrence.