Nato to extend Baltic umbrella

NATO has decided to extend an operation to protect the airspace of Baltic members Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania with fighter jets.

None of the three Baltic nations, which joined Nato in 2004, have had fighter planes since they seceded from the Soviet Union in 1991. As a result, larger members have taken turns policing their airspace.

Normally, up to four jets are deployed on four-month rotations, along with 50 to 100 ground crew. Since 2014, the air forces of the UK, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Turkey, and the United States, have participated.

In 2010, Nato decided to extend the air policing mission until the end of 2014. No date for the end of the latest extension was given.