NATO REVIEW
January 8, 2018
Demark and Italy are to keep the skies of the Baltic safe as part of NATO’s Air Policing mission in the region. Danish F-16 jets will fly from Šiauliai Air Base in Lithuania, while Italy’s Eurofighters will operate in a supporting role from Ämari in Estonia. Allies have been taking turns to police Baltic airspace since 2004, when Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania joined NATO.
At a ceremony on Monday (8 January 2018), Denmark took over Air Policing from the United States. It is the sixth time Demark has taken part in the NATO mission. An event will be held on Wednesday (10 January 2018) to mark the handover from Belgium to Italy, it is the third time Italian aircraft have patrolled Baltic airspace.
The Belgian and Italian jets will be deployed for the next four months. Seventeen Allies have participated in Baltic Air Policing mission since 2004, an expression of the solidarity among NATO members