Four F-16 Fighting Falcons and 120 personnel from the Royal Netherlands Air Force arrived at Siauliai AB, Lithuania, on Monday to lead NATO’s Baltic Air Policing operations aimed at securing member nation’s airspace. They will relieve a group of French air force Dassault Mirage 2000s, and will be joined in their mission by four German air force Eurofighter Typhoons based at Amari AB, Estonia, according to IHS Jane’s. NATO has conducted the the patrols since 2004, and the RNAF has participated twice before. The Fiscal 2017 National Defense Authorization Act increased US military funding for this NATO mission under the European Defense Initiative. (See also: Northern Exposure in the Feb. 2017 issue of Air Force Magazine.)
Watch and Read: All the Videos and Transcripts from AWS 23
March 21, 2023
The 2023 AFA Warfare Symposium held March 6-8 in Aurora, Colo., brought together dozens of the leading voices shaping the Air Force and Space Force of today and the future. You can access the entire program via on-demand video and complete transcripts starting now, with every keynote session and panel…