Norway takes the lead in NATO’s Baltic Air Policing mission
Szöveg: nato.int | 2015. május 7. 9:00Norway will assume lead responsibility for NATO’s air policing mission over the Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania on Friday (1 May 2015). The United Kingdom will also rejoin the mission while Italy and Belgium will continue their participation. A handover ceremony is taking place on Thursday (30 April 2015) at Šiauliai airbase in Lithuania, where Italy will formally transfer lead responsibility for the mission to Norway.
NATO has been protecting the Baltic skies since 2004, when Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania joined the Alliance. The mission helps NATO’s Baltic Allies who do not have fighter aircraft of their own guard their airspace. In response to Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, NATO’s air-policing mission was enhanced with additional aircraft last spring.
NATO’s Baltic Air Policing aircraft frequently intercept Russian fighters and bombers flying near Baltic States. In 2014, NATO scrambled its planes more than 150 times in response to Russian air activity over the Baltics, four times more than in 2013.
Photo: nato.int