Portugal's Air Force takes over Estonia-based NATO Baltic air policing duties

TALLINN - On Tuesday, a ceremonial rotation and medal ceremony for the NATO Baltic air policing mission took place at Amari air base in Estonia, where Dutch airmen who had been guarding the airspace of the Baltic states handed over the duty to a Portuguese contingent.

"The Netherlands has made a significant contribution to collective defense by protecting NATO airspace out of the Amari air base with its most modern and capable F-35 fighter jets. Additionally, the Royal Netherlands Air Force has participated in exercises to strengthen allied interoperability. We thank the Netherlands for ensuring the security of Baltic airspace," Estonian Defense Minister Hanno Pevkur said in his speech at the ceremony.

Col. Riivo Valge, deputy commander of the Estonian Air Force, also thanked the Royal Netherlands Air Force for securing the airspace of Estonia and the other Baltic states, and welcomed the Portuguese Air Force, which is about to begin a four-month deployment at Amari air base with F-16 fighter jets.

"It is a great pleasure to welcome for the first time in Estonia the Portuguese Air Force, whose presence here confirms that this operation is of utmost importance and will continue its strategic role in ensuring peace and security in the region," Valge said.

The contingent now based at Amari is made up of parts of the 201st and 301st squadrons of the Portuguese Air Force, based at Monte Real air base in western Portugal. Portugal has not previously deployed to Amari as part of the Baltic air policing mission, but they have participated in the operation seven times to date out of the Siauliai air base in Lithuania.

According to a decision of the North Atlantic Council, the air forces of NATO member states have been taking turns to police the airspace of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania since March 2004, when the Baltic states became NATO members. At the alliance's Chicago summit in 2012, the North Atlantic Council extended the Baltic air security mission indefinitely.

The second NATO Baltic air policing contingent is based at Siauliai air base in Lithuania, where the current rotation consists of Polish and Romanian air force personnel with F-16 fighter jets.