Italian Air Force takes over NATO's Baltic Air Policing Mission in Estonia
The Italian Air Force and its F-35 fighter jets will patrol Baltic airspace for the next four months after taking over the mission from the Portuguese Air Force on Friday.
NATO's Baltic Air Policing mission operates from Estonia and Lithuania and sees alliance members guard the three countries' airspace. While all three Baltic countries have air forces, they do not have their own fighter jets.
This is the fourth time the Italian Air Force will participate in the mission at Ämari Air Base. They were last deployed to Estonia in 2021.
Tuuli Duneton, deputy secretary general for defense policy at the Estonian Ministry of Defense, thanked the Portuguese mission for its "dedicated service".
She said the air policing mission is a "clear sign of the unity of allies."
NATO launched the air policing mission in Lithuania in 2004, and expanded it to Estonia after the annexation of Ukraine's Crimea in 2014. Alliance members operate on a four-month rotational basis.
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Editor: Helen Wright
