The Portuguese Air Force took control of NATO’s rotating Baltic Air Policing Mission at Ämari Air Base on Monday during a handover ceremony with the Italian Air Force.
The Portuguese have brought their F-16 fighter jets to Estonia and will be stationed in the region for four months. This will be their second stint at Ämari and ninth in the NATO mission, following seven previous rotations in Lithuania.
Chief of Staff of the Estonian Air Force, Colonel Fredi Karu, thanked the Italian air force personnel for securing the airspace of Estonia.
Minister of Defense Hanno Pevkur said 800 Italian personnel had taken part in the mission.
“At the most difficult moments of this mission, you proved that deterrence is not just a concept. It means a team, training and command decisions that function flawlessly even when a great deal depends on it,” he said.
Read more: ERR.EE
