Two Rafales from the French NATO detachment remain on the runway before taking off from the Siauliai base, in Lithuania. Their pilots wait for their Dutch comrades from Estonia to complete the interception of Russian bombers with their F-35s.
Established after the Baltic countries joined NATO in 2004, the “sky police” were reinforced in 2014 after the annexation of Crimea by Russia and are currently operating, in the midst of the war in Ukraine, with three rotating detachments from allied countries, two deployed to Siauliai and one to the Amari base, Estonia.
With fighters flying several times a day and the interception of any suspicious Russian plane, this NATO force protects Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, these former Soviet republics whose painful memory is exacerbated by the invasion of Ukraine and who do not have the air means to defend themselves.
On this sunny and windy morning in Siauliai, the French took off almost an hour late.
– “Routine” –
“It was training for us with the Dutch who were on heightened alert. We were sidelined because there was a big Russian + package + arriving from Saint Petersburg, which was going along Finland and Estonia and who went as far as Sweden and then came back”, says Commander Mathieu, at the head of the French detachment and whose last name cannot be mentioned as for all the soldiers on mission.
The Dutch Air Force reported the episode the next day with photos on its X account.
“The Dutch Air Police detachment in Amari, Estonia, took off its F-35s on December 17 to intercept two Russian SU-27 (Sukhoi fighter jets) and two Russian Backfire bombers” (TU-22m), confirms the command of the NATO air force, questioned by AFP.
The French, for their part, intercepted an Ilyushin Il-18, a Russian transport plane, a few days earlier.
“We intercepted it to ensure that it was indeed an Il-18, (to know) what its behavior was and if it was in contact with regional control. And as soon as that was done, we were left again”, explains Commander Mathieu.
According to Lithuanian Lieutenant Colonel Robertas Tumasonis, number two at the Siauliai base, since the start of the conflict in Ukraine, the number of takeoffs on alert has tripled. “The Russians” monitor the Baltic Sea region and NATO nations. It’s their daily routine.”
The interceptions occur two or three times a week and remain, according to Commander Mathieu, +professional+, with everyone behaving correctly.
– Waterproof and de-icing suit –
Even if Russian planes do not violate international rules, the alert is triggered to verify their type and mission and to be sure that they do not enter the airspace of the Baltic countries.
“Our goal is not to look for the other side, but we have a country next door that plays with the limits and with a lot of devices,” explains Captain Thomas, a French intelligence officer.
In addition to intelligence thefts, the Russians engage in “strategic signaling” with “impressive” aircraft to show that they have capabilities despite the war in Ukraine.
In the NATO camp, we play the game of deterrence with the same methods: this is the first time that the French have deployed Rafale, more efficient than the Dassault Mirage 2000 previously used. The Dutch are equipped with F-35s manufactured by the American Lockheed Martin, fifth generation fighter planes whose equivalent in Europe is still at the design stage to be operational by 2040.
The frequency of the flights is another demonstration of force: in the afternoon, three Rafales take off for an air combat exercise between them.
“For young pilots, it was a special exercise, which we don’t often train in France,” said Captain Hugo after landing.
For many French airmen who had been deployed in Iraq or Syria, this is a first mission in the most northern regions, which brings new experiences: evolving in a heavy and stiff suit supposed to guarantee survival in the Baltic Sea or learn how to defrost Rafale aircraft or protect them from corrosion.
– Complicated past with Russia –
Annexed during the Second World War, resulting in repression and Russification, the Baltic countries, which regained their independence in the early 1990s, have been particularly vigilant since the large-scale Russian attack in Ukraine.
These memories mean that “for many Lithuanians, NATO is the first or second priority these days”, underlines Lieutenant-Colonel Robertas Tumasonis.
“The Russians remain present and will probably continue to attempt destabilizing actions, hybrid actions to try to weaken transatlantic solidarity,” Jean-Christophe Noël, associate researcher at the Center for Security Studies of the French Institute, told AFP. international relations (Ifri). This former fighter pilot emphasizes that, even if losses in the air “are substantial” for the Russians since the invasion of Ukraine, they are less heavy than on the ground.
For him, the sky police “is a good way to show solidarity between the members of the Transatlantic Alliance.”
The three Baltic countries “do not have the means to afford a powerful air force at the cutting edge of technology. But some nevertheless have excellent expertise, such as cyber in Estonia, and can concentrate with profit on that,” he concludes.
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