The French air force will in May take over the duties of policing of the Baltic air space from Denmark under the air policing arrangement agreed within NATO.
France to assume Baltic air policing duties in spring
26th January 2013, 16:02
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Starting from May the duties will be performed by France, the air forces of which will use Mirage 2000C fighter jets on the mission, spokespeople for the Estonian Defense Ministry said.
It will be the fourth time for the French to perform the mission. Previously the French air force carried out the task in 2011, 2010 and 2007.
Denmark, which took over the mission on Jan. 3 this year, has deployed F-16 jets in the Zokniai air base in northern Lithuania, the facility that the Baltic air policing mission operates out of.
For member nations not having the full range of air defense assets in their own militaries, like Luxembourg, Iceland, Slovenia and Baltic states, agreements exist to ensure a single standard of security within NATO's area of responsibility. In case of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania the alliance rotates air policing capabilities to accomplish the task.
NATO allies have been taking turns policing the skies of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania since March 2004. The nations that have deployed their aircraft and personnel on the mission are Belgium, Britain, the Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Turkey and the United States.