Four British Royal Air Force Eurofighter Typhoon jets are coming to Lithuania today to back up the NATO air policing mission in the Baltic states, amid growing tensions between Russia and Ukraine.
Four Polish Mig-29 will join the British jets on Tuesday, in addition to four Danish F-16s that will deploy in Estonia. Starting in May, 12 Allied jets will patrol the Baltic skies.
Ever since the start of the NATO air-policing mission a decade ago, four Allied jets have been guarding the Baltic skies at all times. The United States, which is currently wrapping up its shift in the mission, stepped up the presence to 10 F-15 jets in March of this year.
The official ceremony of the rotation of the NATO air policing mission leadership will take place Wednesday. The next mission leadership will be shared between the UK, Denmark, and Poland and will last from May to September 2014.
In the wake of Russian actions in Ukraine, the US sent a land unit to Lithuania, while NATO dispatched more warships to the Baltic Sea.
Source: the Lithuania Tribune
http://www.lithuaniatribune.com/67293/british-jets-coming-to-lithuania-to-boost-baltic-air-policing-mission-201467293/