For the first time, two Italian Air Force F-35 Lightning II fighters scrambled from Ämari Air Base, Estonia, in response to Russian aircraft under NATO’s Air Policing mission.

The intercept marks a significant operational milestone for the Italian contingent deployed in the Baltic region.

The scramble was carried out by the Italian Task Force Air – 32nd Wing detachment, which is on Quick Reaction Alert 24/7. Operating from Ämari, the detachment demonstrates NATO’s commitment to safeguarding Allied airspace and maintaining readiness on its eastern flank.

A NATO statement emphasised that the mission underscores the Alliance’s ability to respond rapidly to potential incursions. The Air Policing mission is designed to preserve the integrity of NATO airspace and reassure member states in the face of increased Russian military activity near Alliance borders.

Within NATO, air policing is a collective and purely defensive mission, carried out using member nations’ fighter aircraft on quick reaction alert. The system relies on a network of radar sites, control centres and Combined Air Operations Centres, which together form the NATO Integrated Air Defence System. This network ensures constant 24/7 surveillance and the ability to respond within seconds to potential airspace incidents.

Member states without their own fast-jet air defence capability are covered by other Allies. Luxembourg’s airspace is protected by Belgian fighters, Slovenia’s by Italian aircraft, and Albania’s by Italian and Greek jets. The Baltic States have been covered since joining NATO in 2004, with rotations initially from Šiauliai Air Base in Lithuania and, from 2014, also from Ämari Air Base in Estonia. Deployments generally involve four fighters and 50–100 support personnel.

To maintain readiness and standardise procedures across nations, NATO runs the Ramstein Alloy training series, building on experience from Baltic Region Training Events. These exercises involve both deployed Allied aircrews and the air forces of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, ensuring the mission is conducted professionally and safely while reinforcing Alliance solidarity on NATO’s north-eastern flank.

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32 COMMENTS

    • That’s like saying “If you’re encountering a trespasser you should draw a loaded and made ready firearm and point it at their face.”
      Which is generally a bad idea (American Police notwithstanding). It leaves you no option to escalate beyond deadly force, and also put the other person into an instantly threatened and defensive position where they might do something stupid.

      • Look at the picture again — I was just joking. Next time, I’ll make it more obvious:

        “Who’s intercepting who?”

        #LightenUp

          • I only made a joke (not funny enough to be classed as a joke) and now WW3 is being discussed 👌🤣

        • It’s a stock photo. And I think we can trust the highly trained fighter pilot knows what he’s doing. Whilst also following rules of engagement.

          • Jesus another one… 😬

            #I’m reading a book about anti-gravity… it’s impossible to put down.

          • Well done you got someone to read the comments for you 👏

            #Why did the scarecrow win an award? Because he was outstanding in his field.

        • Is it frustrating though? Many commentators here say daft super aggressive things here all the time, at least your name gives the game away.

          • My name came about after my humourous remarks on a TVR owners site, came under fire from someone with zero, zilch sense of humour at all. He called me a “Halfwit” to which I thanked him for recognising 50% of my wit.

            “Redshift” would indicate you are on another wavelength ?

            Last week a chap called “Grinch” also commented on my chosen handle.

            I just think he was acting the part though.

            🤔👀🤦‍♂️

      • There is another alternative Dern, they stray a metre into NATO airspace and we just shoot them down; it is all Russians understand.

        They endanger Civillian airtraffic, we shoot them down.

        They drag up cables? We sink them and the crew.

        We take any and every opportunity to kill Russians and make the world the a better place.

        I accept you may disagree with me on this issue.

          • Actually Dern

            Care to explain what the commies have ever done to transgressions when the aircraft had their responders switched ON?

            It won’t start WW3, the individual Russian is ambivalent about another Russian dying, not so keen on themselves.

  2. Hmm, interesting picture, as it seems the Italian F35 isn’t carrying WVRAAM under its wings? The assumption is that it has AMRAAMs in the weapons bays.

    • I haven’t seen many pictures of F35s with anything other than ASRAAMs on the wing pylons, come to think of it.
      Maybe the fins on Sidewinder interact badly RCS wise?

      • According to several radar scattering simulations, the wing-mounted ASRAAM and AIM-9X both have a negligible impact on overall radar return from the frontal aspect. In fact, it has been suggested that due to the effect of destructive interference caused by the external wingtip stores, those wing-mounted missiles might actually further reduce radar return from some angles.

        Given that the Lightning is built primarily for frontal aspect stealth, pilots seek to keep adversary aircraft within their frontal 40 degree arc (the direction from which the Lightning is stealthiest), which also helps to limit the impact of wing-mounted missiles.

  4. Hey Jim, Is your wife controlling these, remotely ?
    Or have you got her fluffing up your armchair pillows ?

    It’s OK, I was born like it.

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