NATO transitions Baltic Air Policing to full air defense mission (defence24.com)

• NATO Ankara summit upgrades Baltic Air Policing to air defense mission.
• Faster weapons engagement authorized against airspace intruders.
• Mission active since 2004; rotational presence in Lithuania and Estonia.

"NATO leaders decided at the Ankara summit to upgrade the Baltic Air Policing mission from a peacetime air policing operation to a full air defense mission. Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda confirmed the decision on Wednesday. Estonian Defense Minister Hanno Pevkur said the change will allow pilots to use weapons more quickly to shoot down or neutralize aerial threats, with minimal collateral damage. The mission, established in 2004 after the Baltic states joined NATO, rotates allied aircraft from bases in Šiauliai, Lithuania and Ämari, Estonia."