Celebrating two decades of continuous operation, NATO’s Baltic Air Policing mission marks a significant milestone in the Alliance’s history.
Initiated on March 29, 2004, when a Belgian F-16 landed at Šiauliai Air Base in Lithuania, this mission has been a foundational element in integrating Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania’s airspace into NATO after their accession in the same year.
The mission, led by NATO’s Combined Air Operations Centre in Uedem, Germany, under the NATO Integrated Air and Missile Defence System (NATINAMDS), has seen 17 Allies rotate in safeguarding the Baltic States’ airspace.
General James Hecker, Commander of Allied Air Command, reflected on the mission’s symbolic importance: “On a daily basis, Allied fighter jets flying over the Baltic Sea – now surrounded by NATO Allies – are a strong symbol of what our great NATO Alliance has represented for 75 years: A success story of an organisation that ensures collective security and promotes stability and peace for one billion people in 32 member States.”
In response to evolving security challenges, including Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014 and its aggression in Ukraine in early 2022, NATO has adapted its air policing efforts.
It activated Ämari Air Base in Estonia as a second operational hub in 2014 and introduced enhanced Vigilance Activities and the Air Shielding mission in 2022 to bolster its air and missile defense capabilities along the eastern flank.
Slightly off topic, but remaining in the air. A video has emerged of a TU 22M pirouetting as it falls out of the sky on fire. Happened near Stravropol which is situated across the water to the right of the Crimea inside Russia proper. St which