RAMSTEIN, Germany – Allied aircraft from Poland and France conducted aerial drills over Estonia on February 13 and 14 practicing close formation flights and aerial combat drills with a Polish transport aircraft.
Beside ensuring 24/7 readiness for Air Policing sorties, regular training enables our pilots to integrate with their Allied counterparts
The Polish Air Force C-295 transport aircraft and Polish F-16 fighter jets took off from Ämari Air Base for training sorties in the airspace above Estonia. They were joined by French Mirage 2000 fighters and conducted aerial combat maneuvers – so-called 2v2 drills.
Allied aircraft from Poland and France conducted aerial drills over Estonia on February 13 and 14 practicing close formation flights and aerial combat drills. Photo by Arnaud Chamberlin.
Polish F-16 fighter jets were joined by French Mirage 2000-5 fighters and conducted aerial combat maneuvers – so-called 2v2 drills. Photo by Arnaud Chamberlin.
Polish F-16 pilots in front of their jet at Ämari Air Base, Estonia, where they have ensured 24/7 readiness for NATO enhanced Air Policing since December 2023. Photo by Arnaud Chamberlin.
Stacked formation during aerial drills - both Poland and France are flying their fighter jets in support of NATO’s Baltic Air Policing protecting the skies in the region. Photo by Arnaud Chamberlin.
“The training enables our pilots to integrate with their French counterparts,” said Lieutenant Colonel Michał Zloch, commander the Polish F-16 detachment. “Beside ensuring 24/7 readiness for Air Policing sorties for the Alliance over the three Baltic States, we are glad that training opportunities like these arise and we regularly exploit them also with our French and Belgian colleagues. Moreover, such integrated training is also beneficial for aircraft controllers who make sure the training is conducted safely and professionally,” he added.
Both Poland and France are currently flying their fighter jets in support of NATO’s Baltic Air Policing. While Polish F-16s are deployed to Ämari, Estonia, French Mirage 2000-5 are stationed at Šiauliai, Lithuania. The Polish transport plane was at Ämari for a short-duration transport mission to support Allied training and help fighter pilots hone readiness and interoperability.
For ten years, Estonia has supported NATO’s enhanced Baltic Air Policing mission with seamlessly hosting Allied fighter detachments at Ämari. The addition of the base to the regional air posture was in response to Russia’s illegal annexation of Crimea in 2014. It has been key to demonstrating NATO’s resolve to deter and if necessary defend Allied territory against potential aggression. From March 1, due to runway works at Ämari, NATO will move the enhanced Air Policing detachment to Lielvarde, Latvia, where German Eurofighters are scheduled to take the mission over from the Polish F-16s.