With fighters flying several times a day and the interception of any suspicious Russian plane, NATO's “sky police” protect Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, these former Soviet republics whose painful memory is exacerbated by the invasion of Ukraine and which do not have the air means to defend themselves.
Established after the Baltic countries joined NATO in 2004, this air force was reinforced in 2014 after Russia's annexation of Crimea and currently operates with three rotating detachments from allied countries, two deployed in Šiauliai and one on the Ämari base, Estonia.
According to Lithuanian lieutenant-colonel Robertas Tumasonis, number two at the Šiauliai 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”, everyone behaves correctly.
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 go after the other side, but we have a country next door that plays with the limits and has a lot of devices,” explains Captain Thomas, an intelligence officer. French.
In addition to intelligence flights, 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: the French have deployed Rafales, the Dutch are equipped with F-35s, 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 show of force: in the afternoon, three Rafales take off for an air combat exercise between them.
