Baltic Air Policing

Air Policing is one of the key aspects of common security and defence for the Alliance, preserving the integrity of NATO airspace.

For member nations not having the full range of Air Defence (AD) assets in their own militaries, like Luxembourg, Iceland, Slovenia and Baltic States, agreements exist to ensure a single standard of security within NATO's Area of Responsibility. In case of the three Baltic States of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, the Alliance rotates Air Policing capabilities to accomplish the task.

 

At the Chicago Summit 2012, NATO decided to extend its commitment to protect the Baltic airspace. The agreement is an example of Smart Defence, demonstrating how the Alliance can balance its political and military needs in an economically efficient way.

Headquartres Allied Air Command Ramstein is the command authority for this task. JFC Brunssum monitors developments in this area in accordance with its remit to establish Northern Regional focus at the operational level i.e. a network of interconnected level commands in NATO's Northern region.