NATO air forces to conduct exercise over Baltic states

NATO jets to train over Baltics

BRUSSELS — NATO said Tuesday that its air forces will conduct an exercise this month over the Baltic states, which have been alarmed by the fast-improving ties between the alliance and neighboring Russia.

The training March 17-20 over Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia will involve French Mirage 2000 and Polish F-16 fighters and U.S. aerial tankers, said Lt. Col. Thomas Dillschneider, spokesman for the Allied Air Headquarters in Ramstein, Germany.

The mission — the latest in a series designed for fighter units patrolling the area — is mean to “demonstrate solidarity with NATO’s Baltic members,” Dillschneider said.

NATO has kept a rotating detachment of fighter jets for air policing duties in the Baltics since the three countries joined the alliance in 2004. None of them possess the fast jets required for such tasks.

Relations between NATO and Moscow were frozen after Russia’s brief 2008 war with Georgia, but have improved since under the Obama administration, which has sought to enlist Russia’s assistance in the escalating war in Afghanistan.

The improvement, however, has put Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia on edge as they see neighboring Russia as a regional security threat. They were alarmed recently by the possible sale of up to four French 20,000-ton French Mistral-class command and control helicopter carriers to the Russian navy, which would greatly enhance its ability to project power. The deal is reportedly worth $2.2 billion.