Frag Out! Magazine

rate they have been using for a long time. What's interesting, Quick Reaction Alert operations (QRA) conducted in France are usually done by a single aircraft – in the case of Baltic Air Policing, it is a pair of fighters, which pilots pointed out as the main difference between service in the country and the "Baltic" service. In the period of four months, pilots of the rotation conducted 22 "live" interceptions, four of which were at night. Among types of intercepted aircraft, there was a Sukhoi Su-30SM Flanker-C, that Mirages intercepted on 13 December 2016. News about that incident was widely presented in European media. Additionally, 123 training missions were performed, including simulated dogfights with German partners from Amari. If we compare it with previous years, we will notice a slight decrease of activity of Russian aircraft in the international airspace, without a complex flight plan or with the transponder switched off. According to details revealed by NATO, allied aircraft intercepted Russian aircraft 110 times in 2016, while in 2015 the number reached 160, and in 2014 - 140. Of course, that number is till several times higher than from before the annexation of Crimea (for example, in 2013, aircraft with a Red Star were intercepted "only" 43 times). The very short violations (a dozen of seconds) of Estonian airspace have become a sad tradition; there are several such violations noted every year. Unfortunately, they are too short to allow NATO aircraft counter react. According to Gen. Thierry Dupont, the commander of Combined Air Operations Center who manages all QRA NATO forces, the number of air encounters with Russians in the airspace over the Baltic Sea decreased due to the engagement of Russia in the war in Syria. It should be highlighted that the number of interceptions after the escalation of the Ukrainian crisis results not only from the increased activity of Russia, but also from the significantly reinforced air forces of NATO patrols (for two years, they consisted of four assets that cooperated with each other, instead of one as in previous years – currently, there are two assets). Everyone highlights that despite the tension between the Alliance and Russia, there have been no dangerous incidents between the interceptors and the intercepted. At the beginning of January 2017, the symbolical keys to Baltic airspace were handed over to the Netherlands. Their mixed rotation consisting of personnel from Volkel and Leeuwarden, equipped with F-16s (probably for the last time) started their duty in Siauliai. People in Amari were replaced, but within the range of one country – the asset of Neuburg was replaced by TaktLwG 71 from Wittmund. German soldiers will then join Belgian and Italian soldiers who served in Baltic Air Policing for two consecutive turns. According to current plans, Dutch F-16s at hangars of Siauliai are to be replaced by Polish crews from 31.BLT. The expected debut of Polish F-16s in the Baltic mission will, most certainly, cause a relevant reaction on the other side of the border – we should look forward to a very hot summer over Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia. AVIATION

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