The Turkish Air Force F-16 fighters conducted aerial manoeuvres in the north of Poland and the Baltic Sea coast while flying alongside a Polish Air Force C-295M Casa transport aircraft. Photos by Arnaud Chamberlin.
Since mid-August four Turkish F-16 fighters have been deployed at Malbork demonstrating NATO cohesion and integration with the Polish Air Force MiG-29 fighters at the base.
"Team Malbork has an excellent track record of contributing to NATO's Air Policing. Since 2014, we have hosted Allied fighter detachments from France, the Netherlands, Belgium, Portugal and now Turkey supporting NATO Assurance Measures in the region," said Lieutenant Colonel Jerzy Goleniowski, Deputy Base Commander at Malbork. "Polish MiG-29 from Malbork were deployed to the Baltic Air Policing mission in Lithuania, where we benefited from receiving host nation support. It is great to see that we are now building on our experience that has enabled us to embed and support fighter detachments in Poland," he added.
After conducting aerial drills, the Turkish fighters escorted the C-295M back to Malbork. They conducted a formation overflight of the base and safely landed before it returned to its home base at Krakow.
Until mid-September, the Turkish F-16 detachment will continue their NATO mission at Malbork. They continuously contribute to safe guarding Allied skies in the region while the 80-strong team and their four jets are stationed here. Once this deployment is finished, they will redeploy to Bandırma 6th Main Jet Base in the northwest of Turkey.
Story by Allied Air Command Public Affairs Office