With F-16 fighter jets
The Portuguese Air Force is securing the skies over and around Estonia as part of Nato’s Baltic Air Policing mission.
Portuguese fighter pilots and aircrew arrived at Ämari Air Base, in Estonia, in late May, replacing an earlier Portuguese detachment that had begun its duties in April and assumed responsibility for their four F-16 Fighting Falcon fighter jets. That deployment was the first time Portuguese fighters had operated out of Estonia.
Because the Baltic States – Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania – lack supersonic fighters capable of conducting interceptions, Nato countries provide fighter jets on a rotating basis.
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Based in Lithuania with an additional detachment in Estonia, the Baltic Air Policing mission is on standby to respond to air traffic anomalies. These can be civilian aircraft that have lost communication with air traffic controllers, or Russian military aircraft that refuse to identify themselves or respond to hails.
Nato Air Policing is a peacetime mission that operates 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
Image: Portuguese Air Force F-16s launching on training missions from Ämari Air Base in Estonia. Credit: Nato
