NATO Air Policing is a peacetime mission, which aims to preserve the security of Alliance airspace. It is a collective task and involves the continuous presence – 24 hours a day, 365 days a year – of fighter aircraft and crews, which are ready to react quickly to possible airspace violations.
- NATO Air Policing is a collective task and a purely defensive mission involving the 24/7 presence of fighter aircraft, which are ready to react quickly to possible airspace violations.
- NATO members assist those Allies who are without the necessary means to provide air policing of their own territory.
- The Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR) is responsible for the conduct of the NATO Air Policing mission.
- Preservation of the integrity of NATO airspace is one of the missions of NATO Integrated Air and Missile Defence.
- NATO Air Policing is one of the permanent peacetime missions of NATO.
NATO has been protecting the Baltic skies since 2004, when Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania joined the Alliance. NATO member countries that possess an air policing capability voluntarily contribute to the NATO Air Policing mission in the Baltic States and this responsibility is rotated every four months. The capability for the mission in the Baltic States was established by the deployment of NATO fighter aircraft to Šiauliai Air Base in Lithuania. Since 2014, NATO has also been using Ämari Air Base in Estonia for the deployment of additional air policing assets.
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