The Belgian Air Component has handed over the Baltic air-policing mission to the French Air and Space Force in a ceremony at the Amari air base near Tallinn, the press service of the Estonian Defense Forces General Staff said on Thursday
HELSINKI (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 31st March, 2022) The Belgian Air Component has handed over the Baltic air-policing mission to the French Air and Space Force in a ceremony at the Amari air base near Tallinn, the press service of the Estonian Defense Forces General Staff said on Thursday.
"French Air Force pilots with Mirage 2000-5F fighters replaced the Belgian Air Force contingent with F-16 Fighting Falcon fighters. The French planes will be on round-the-clock duty at the airbase, carrying out flights to identify aircraft approaching the country's airspace and conducting regular training flights. In light of the situation in Ukraine, French pilots arrived in Estonia 15 days earlier than expected," the statement said.
The new unit is part of the French air force Cigognes ("Storks") fighter squadron, stationed at Luxeuil-Saint-Sauveur air base in the northeast of France.
Baltic countries do not have the aircraft suitable for air patrols, which is why since April 2004, after their accession to NATO, airspace security is maintained in rotation by the NATO planes, which are based in Lithuania. The Amari air base became an additional platform for placing NATO aircraft in 2014.
