German Fighter Jets to Conduct NATO Air Mission Over Estonia – Defense Forces

TALLINN (Sputnik) – Eurofighter Typhoon multirole fighter jets of the German Air Force that regularly conduct Baltic air-policing missions and are stationed at the Amari base near Tallinn will carry out low-altitude training flights over Estonia, the headquarters of the Estonian Defense Forces said in a statement Monday.

"The fighter jets of the German Air Force Eurofighter Typhoon will conduct flights on working days at the altitude of at least 152 meters (approximately 500 feet) and far from settlements. The flights will be carried out before noon," the statement said.

The NATO member countries regularly carry out fighter aircraft flights over the Baltic states. The four German Eurofighter Typhoons have been involved in the flights since August 31, 2016, after replacing four UK fighter jets of the same type.

German Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen said that Germany planned to continue the flights, conducted under the agreement among the NATO states, when she visited Estonia in early March.

The NATO members have been ensuring the defense of the airspace over the Baltic states ever since their joining the Alliance in April 2004, since none of the newer members possess the aircraft necessary to patrol the air space. The mission was prolonged for an indefinite period of time at the 2012 NATO summit in the US city of Chicago.