Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda says NATO has agreed to upgrade its decades-old Baltic air policing mission into air defence, giving pilots a wider mandate, including destroying “objects that pose a threat”.
– The NATO air policing mission in Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia – three Baltic countries close to Russia that do not operate their own fighter jets – was launched in 2004 immediately after they joined the NATO alliance.
– The aircraft identify and escort Russian military planes flying near the three states.
– This year, they have shot down suspected stray Ukrainian drones over Estonia and Latvia, events that NATO said constituted the first time the mission had opened fire in defence of the alliance.
https://aje.news/vxp86z?update=4750404