Aircraft. Stock photo: Latvijas_armija
NATO to expand Baltic air policing mission: fighter jets will be authorised to shoot down aerial threats
NATO has agreed to transform its long-running Baltic Air Policing mission into an air defence mission, giving Allied forces broader powers to respond to aerial threats.
Ukrainska Pravda
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NATO has agreed to transform its long-running Baltic Air Policing mission into an air defence mission, giving Allied forces broader powers.
Source: Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda following the NATO summit in Ankara, as reported by Lithuanian public broadcaster LRT
Details: The expanded mission will provide NATO forces with a broader mandate, including the authority to destroy objects that pose a threat to the airspace of the Baltic states.
Nausėda said that as countries in the region face hybrid threats and drone attacks, Allied forces carrying out the mission will be able to assume wider responsibilities.
"[The current] air policing mission is designed for peacetime, when fighter aircraft respond to incidents by intercepting and escorting [aircraft]. In this way, we demonstrate that we are paying attention to incidents. It is a form of deterrence," Nausėda told journalists in Ankara.
Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna said on social media that the updated mission will provide "greater flexibility and faster response to air threats".
Estonian Defence Minister Hanno Pevkur added that ordinary people will not notice any visible changes, as aircraft will continue flying and air policing operations will continue.
"The main difference lies in the details, more specifically in the authority granted to NATO's Supreme Allied Commander Europe and to the pilots. Naturally, we cannot go into those details, but the new arrangement will ensure greater flexibility and faster response times," he explained.
The changes mean there will no longer be a need for political-level consultations before shooting down a drone that enters NATO airspace.
For reference: NATO's Baltic Air Policing mission in Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia – the three Baltic states bordering Russia that do not operate their own fighter aircraft – was launched in 2004, immediately after the three countries joined the Alliance.
The mission was expanded in 2014 following the beginning of Russia's aggression against Ukraine. It now involves more than a dozen fighter aircraft from three NATO member states operating on a rotational basis from two air bases in the region.
Background:
Incursions by drones into the airspace of NATO countries, particularly those on the Alliance's eastern flank, have recently become more frequent. In most cases, these have involved Ukrainian drones that strayed off course after being affected by Russian electronic warfare systems.
In recent months, NATO fighter jets have twice shot down Ukrainian drones that had strayed into the airspace of the Baltic states – the first over Estonia and the second over Latvia.
At the NATO summit in Ankara, Secretary General Mark Rutte announced the launch of the US$40 billion Drone Edge initiative aimed at countering drone threats.
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