Airmen and F-16s of the 23rd Fighter Squadron, Spangdahlem AB, Germany, have taken over NATO’s air policing mission for Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, replacing German Fighter Wing 71. NATO units have been providing routine air defense—on three-month rotations—for the three Baltic states, since Lithuania joined the alliance in March 2004. Poland will replace the Spang unit in January.
In order to deny China “sanctuaries” from which it can launch air and missile salvos during a potential invasion of Taiwan, the U.S. Air Force needs to buy far more B-21 bombers and F-47 fighters than currently planned, according to a new report from AFA’s Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies.
