On Thursday, a changeover ceremony will take place on Thursday at the Lithuanian Air Force Air Base in Siauliai, the Ministry of National Defense said.
The Polish troops, who have been guarding the Baltic airspace for four months, and the Danish troops, who have been doing that for two months, will be replaced by Spanish troops who will patrol the Baltic skies with eight F-18 Hornet fighter jets. They will be reinforced by five Czech Saab JAS 39 Gripen fighters.
"NATO patrols in the Baltic airspace have always been a crucial defense element and we see this more clearly than ever. The security environment in the region is deteriorating, and we particularly appreciate NATO's response to the situation and the reinforcement of the Baltic Air Policing Force on the Alliance's eastern flank," Deputy Minister of National Defense Margiris Abukevicius said.
It will be the ninth time that the Spanish Air Force will participate in the NATO Baltic Air Policing Mission. The Czech Republic will protect the Baltic airspace for the fourth time.
The outgoing Polish and Danish troops have been protecting the Baltic airspace with eight F-16 Fighting Falcon fighters.
The NATO Baltic Air Policing Mission was also reinforced by France whose troops were stationed at the Estonian Air Force Base from March 13 – 15 days earlier than planned. The French are on their third deployment to Estonia and have arrived with four Mirage 5F fighter jets, and will be reinforced by Belgian troops with four F-16 Fighting Falcon fighter jets.
NATO countries have been deploying troops and fighter jets to protect the Baltic airspace since March 2004 when Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia became NATO members. Since then, 14 Allies have continuously conducted NATO air policing in the Baltic States. It will be the Danish contingent's 57th mission since its launch in 2004.