NATO jets escort Russian aircraft 24 times near Lithuania in June

NATO fighter jets deployed on a rotational basis at Lithuania’s Šiauliai Air Base escorted Russian military aircraft near the Baltic country’s airspace 24 times in June, Lithuania’s Ministry of National Defence said. 

“The most active period was the first week of the month, when seven escorts took place. After that, the fighters were scrambled four to five times a week,” the ministry said.

The alliance said such air escort missions are a routine airspace monitoring measure. According to Lithuania’s Defence Ministry, NATO aircraft carried out similar missions 19 times in March, 20 times in April, and nine times in May.

The Baltic states rely on NATO allies for airspace surveillance, as they do not maintain their own fighter aircraft capabilities for this mission.

Since 2004, fighter jets from NATO member states have been deployed on a rotational basis at Šiauliai Air Base as part of the alliance’s Baltic Air Policing mission. In 2014, NATO established an additional element of the mission at Ämari Air Base in Estonia. 

By Vafa Guliyeva