Today at 23:02
Starting April 1, the UK and Sweden, which joined the Alliance last year, will take over the NATO Air Policing mission to patrol the airspace of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia for the next two years.
British and Swedish planes will be stationed at the 22nd Tactical Aviation Base of the Polish Air Force in Malbork, the Polish Ministry of National Defense reported on the X network, Ukrinform reports.
“In March of this year, Eurofighter Typhoon aircraft of the Royal Air Force (RAF) and JAS-39 Gripen aircraft of the Swedish Air Force landed at the airfield of the 22nd tactical air base in Malbork (northern Poland). For two years, our allies will jointly patrol the airspace of NATO’s eastern flank as part of the enhanced Air Policing mission. This is a historic moment for Sweden, as it will be the first foreign mission of the Swedish Air Force after joining the North Atlantic Alliance,” the Polish Ministry of Defense said.
The official ceremony of launching the mission of the UK and Swedish aircraft was attended by Vice Prime Minister and Minister of National Defense of Poland Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysh, Swedish Minister of Defense Pal Jonsson and UK Deputy Secretary of State for Defense Lord Vernon Coaker.
