Lithuania hosts drills of NATO Allied Air Command

NATO Allied Air Command fighter jets are holding drills in Lithuania on March 27.

The fighter jets are conducting an air policing mission over Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia, according to Gazeta.Ru, citing the Lithuanian Defence Ministry’s official website.

The manoeuvres involve NATO fighters deployed at the Zokniai airbase: Polish F-16 and French Rafale. The exercises are conducted in the Palanga area and over the Baltic Sea.

According to the ministry, the exercise will include low-altitude flights and the firing of heat charges over the Baltic Sea.

The airspace over the Baltic States, which do not have their own aircraft to do so, is handled by NATO allies. Since 2004, NATO member states' fighter aircraft have been stationed at the Zokniai base on a rotational basis. In 2014, the second part of the mission arrived at Amari Air Base in Estonia.