In a ceremony attended by senior civilian and army visitors at Ämari Air Base, Estonia, the French Air and Area Power handed the baton of conducting NATO’s enhanced Air Policing to the German Air Power. On August 2, for the second time this 12 months, the duty of augmenting NATO’s Baltic Air Policing (BAP) mission was handed over. 4 Mirage 2000-5 fighter plane are being changed by 4 German Eurofighter plane; the jets from Tactical Air Wing 71 “Richthofen” are deployed to the Estonian air base below the sixtieth Baltic Air Policing rotation and can increase Hungarian Gripen fighters main the mission out of Šiauliai Air Base, Lithuania, the place the duty handed on on July 29.
Throughout the ceremony, Main Basic Harold van Pee underlined the relevance of this time-honoured instance of solidarity amongst Allies saying: “We are going to at all times do what is important to guard and defend all our Allies. Russia’s violation of Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity has extreme implications for Euro-Atlantic safety. NATO and the Allies have taken additional motion; we’ve launched the improved Vigilance Actions along with Air Policing; a number of Allies have used Ämari as a base to launch and patrol the skies making a defensive defend and defending NATO territory in opposition to potential aggression.”
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Within the margins of the ceremony, the French Detachment Commander, Main Loïs mentioned: “Since April 2022, France has secured the skies over the Baltic States with their Mirage 2000-5 fighter plane conducting frequent scrambles, enhanced Vigilance Actions missions and lots of coaching flights with Allies and Companions. NATO and France reveal their robust dedication to insure peace and solidarity with its members.”
His Excellency the Estonian Minister of Defence, Hanno Pevkur summed up his speech by saying:” Let me quote Ronald Reagan – “There are some who’ve forgotten why we’ve a army. It’s to not promote battle. It’s to be ready for peace. There’s an indication over the doorway to the Fairchild Air Power Base in Washington State, and that signal says all of it: ‘Peace is our career’.”
Within the coming months, Germany augments NATO’s Air Policing mission with their Eurofighter jets flying out of Ämari; that is the thirteenth time German Air Power fighters assist the mission within the Baltic area; Germany led BAP 5 instances in 2005, 2008, 2009, 2011, and 2012, and was the augmenting nation at Ämari – every year since 2014. Seventeen Allies have up to now contributed to the mission which – identical to NATO Air Policing in the remainder of Alliance members’ airspace – is overseen by Headquarters Allied Air Command (AIRCOM) at Ramstein, Germany. NATO has additional elevated its readiness and vigilance in response to Russia’s aggressive army incursion into Ukraine. Allies have adopted a sturdy and succesful army posture to discourage – and if required defend in opposition to – any risk to Alliance territory and populations. We have now strengthened our defences on NATO’s jap flank.
