HELSINKI (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 03rd August, 2023) The solemn ceremony to pass the mission to protect the airspace over Estonia and other Baltic countries to a Spanish Air Force unit from the UK's Royal Air Force took place on Wednesday at the Amari airbase near Tallinn, the General Staff of the Estonian Defense Forces said in a statement.
"Spanish Air Force pilots, with Eurofighter Typhoons, have replaced the RAF contingent with fighters of the same type. The fighter jets that arrived in Amari will be on round-the-clock duty at the airbase, if necessary, carry out flights to determine the identity of aircraft approaching the country's airspace and conduct regular training flights," the Estonian Defense Forces said.
Since 2014, the Spanish Air Force has participated in the mission to ensure air security in Amari three times.
The Baltic countries do not have aircraft suitable for air policing, so since April 2004 (after their entry into NATO), NATO aircraft, based in Lithuania at the Zokniai airfield, a few miles from Siauliai, as well as at the Amari airbase, which since 2014 has become an additional site for the deployment of NATO aircraft, have been engaged in airspace protection in rotation.
