Canadian Air Force pilots practice debut road landings in Estonia
Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) fighter pilots on Monday took part in what for them was a first-of-its kind exercise which saw them landing on an Estonian public highway.
The event was part of the TARASSIS 25 exercise, which has seen eight RCAF CF-188 Hornet jets join Italian Air Force Eurofighter Typhoons based at Ämari and an Estonian Air Force M28 Skytruck transport plane.
The highway landing was a first for the Canadian pilots taking part and who had touched down at Ämari Air Base a week earlier, Virumaa teataja reported.
The landing utilized section of the Jägala–Käravete road, part of the Piibe highway in Lääne-Viru County, as an alternative airstrip, while the first plane to touch down was Hornet flown by decorated RCAF pilot Maxime Renaud.
As well as landing, the pilots rehearsed low passes, where the aircraft performs all the procedures preceding landing but the landing gear does not touch down, and also touch-and-go exercises, which as the name suggests sees the landing gear touches the ground, with the plane later accelerating and taking off again rather than halting.
During exercise #TARASSIS25, Royal Canadian Air Force CF-18 Hornet fighters conducted landings on the public Piibe highway in Estonia on 13 October. The exercise also features an Estonian Air Force M28 Skytruck and Italian Air Force Eurofighter Typhoons. pic.twitter.com/cQGmfeM5fv
— Estonian Defence Forces | Eesti Kaitsevägi (@Kaitsevagi) October 13, 2025
On the day, weather conditions were not great, but not poor enough to cancel the event; October 14 and 15 were earmarked as backup days in any case, meaning that section of the road is closed today, Tuesday, 9.30 a.m. to 12.30 p.m., and on the Wednesday as well, during the same hours.
TARASSIS 25 is a major international exercise which forms part of the Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF) running early September to the end of October and across Northern Europe — from the North Atlantic to the Baltic Sea region.
More low altitude NATO jet flights taking place this week
NATO air policing aircraft based in the Baltic states are continuing to conduct training flights, including low-altitude flights, in Estonian airspace this week, through to Sunday, October 19.
This may include supersonic flights, coordinated with civil air traffic control and conducted at designated flight levels. Supersonic flights create a shockwave and a sonic boom, which may sound similar to an artillery blast or explosion.
The flights are scheduled to take place between 10 a.m. and 10 p.m. Low-altitude flights will not fly lower than 152 meters (500 feet) altitude.
Larger settlements and densely populate areas are being avoided in the overflights were possible, and the exercises are conducted in accordance with Estonian law and organized in coordination with the civilian state Transport Administration and the Estonian Air Navigation Services (EANS).
In addition to Ämari, west of Tallinn, NATO Air Baltic Policing Mission jets fly out of Šiauliai Air Base in northern Lithuania.
Highway landings have been rehearsed in Estonia in the past, including an exercise in June which used the same stretch of road.
The McDonnell Douglas CF-18 Hornet (official military designation CF-188) is an RCAF variant of the U.S. McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet multirole fighter aircraft.
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Editor: Andrew Whyte
Source: Postimees
