NATO fighters made 110 flights from the Baltic states to escort Russian Air Force aircraft in 2016
Last year, NATO fighter jets stationed in Baltic countries scrambled 110 times to escort Russian military aircraft flying near the borders of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, as reported by postimees.ee, citing information from the Ministry of Defence of Lithuania. The activity of Russian aircraft still remains higher than before 2014.
According to data provided by the Ministry of Defense to the Baltic News Service, in 2013 NATO fighters scrambled 47 times, in 2014, 140 times, in 2015, about 160 times, and in 2016, about 110 times.
Air Force Fighters from NATO member countries carry out the mission of the Baltic States air police from air bases in Lithuania (Siauliai) and Estonia (Amari). The fighters usually take to the air to escort Russian planes flying over the Baltic Sea to the Kaliningrad region.
On Monday, four F-16 Fighting Falcon fighters of the Air Force of the Netherlands landed at the Lithuanian Air Force airbase in the city of Siauliai. They will carry out the mission of the NATO air police in the Baltic States.