NATO leadership has changed the mandate of the Baltic air policing mission from a patrol mission to a combat mission.
According to Report, Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda made this statement to the BNS news agency.
“One of the key outcomes of the NATO summit in Ankara is the decision to reclassify the NATO air policing mission as an air defence mission,” he said.
Control of the airspace over the Baltic states, which do not have their own air force for this purpose, is carried out by their NATO allies. Since 2004, fighter jets from NATO member states have been stationed at the Zokniai airbase in Lithuania. Since April 2014, a second contingent of the mission has been based at the Ämari airbase in Estonia.
The military format will enable the Alliance’s fighter jets to participate in combat operations and be integrated into Lithuania’s defence plans.
