The Lithuania Tribune December 27, 2012
Danish troops with F-16 fighter jets are set to replace Czech troops currently protecting the airspace of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia as of the next year.
Four US-made fighter jets of the Royal Danish Air Force will land at the Lithuanian Air Base in Siauliai on Jan. 2 and the rotation ceremony will take place on Jan. 3, the Ministry of National Defense said on Thursday.
Danish troops will protect the Baltic airspace for the fourth time already.
Czech troops with fighter jets JAS-39C “Gripen” have been guarding the Baltic airspace since late August.
Lithuania and other Baltic states don’t have air policing assets. Based on the decision by the North Atlantic Council, since March 2004, when the Baltic States joined NATO, the 24/7 task to police the airspace of the Baltic States has been conducted on three-month rotation from Lithuania’s First Air Base in Zokniai/Siauliai International Airport.
Troops from Belgium, Denmark, the Czech Republic, the UK, Spain, the US, Poland, Norway, the Netherlands, Portugal, France, Romania, Turkey and Germany have guarded the Baltic airspace.
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http://www.lithuaniatribune.co... )
