Baltic Air Policing

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The three Baltic states: Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania
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The three Baltic states: Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania

The Baltic air-policing mission is a NATO air defence Quick Reaction Alert (QRA) in order to guard the airspace over the three Baltic states Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.

Since March 2004, when Lithuania joined NATO, alliance nations have policed the airspace over the Baltic states on three-month rotation from Lithuania's First Air Base in Zokniai, near the northern city of Šiauliai. Starting with the Turkish deployment, rotations changed to a 4 month basis.

Usual deployments consist of four Fighter aircraft with between 50 and 100 support personnel.

[edit] Deployments

Date Org. Aircraft Ref.
March 30, 2004 Belgian Air Force F-16AM [1]
July 1, 2004 Danish Air Force F-16 [2]
October 30, 2004 RAF Panavia Tornado F3
January 1, 2005 Royal Norwegian Air Force F-16 [3]
March 30, 2005 Royal Netherlands Air Force F-16
June 30, 2005 Luftwaffe F-4F Phantom [4]
October 12, 2005 USAFE,Spangdahlem,23rd EFS F-16

[5] ,[6]

January 1, 2006 Polish Air Force MiG-29 Fulcrum Contingent "Orlik" [7]
March 31, 2006 Turkish Air Force F-16 [8]
August 1, 2006 Spanish Air Force Mirage F-1 [9] , [10]
December 1, 2006 Belgian Air Force F-16AM [11]
April 1, 2007 French Air Force Mirage-2000 ?
August 1, 2007 Romanian Air Force MiG-21 ?

[edit] References

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