Turkey will deploy five F-16 fighter jets and 76 military personnel to Estonia from August through November for NATO’s Baltic Air Policing mission, the state-run Anadolu news agency reported on Sunday.
The Turkish contingent will operate from Ämari Air Base, helping protect the airspace of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania at a time of heightened security concerns along NATO’s eastern flank following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The deployment will be drawn from the 181st Jet Squadron, known as the Pars Squadron, based at the 8th Main Jet Base Command in the southeastern Turkish province of Diyarbakır.
Turkey will replace a Portuguese contingent of four F-16s and up to 95 staff whose deployment at Ämari runs from April 1 through July 31.
The Turkish aircraft will remain on round-the-clock alert to respond rapidly to unidentified aircraft, possible airspace violations and other incidents requiring NATO intervention.
