In the next two years NATO’s Baltic air space patrol mission will cost around six million euros.
The government project prepared by the Ministry of Defence provides for covering costs of the NATO Baltic air space in 2024 and 2025 as long as they do not exceed 6 million euros from the ministry’s budget. This financing is payment to NATO member states for their support services.
In May, it became known that the aircraft that would be patrolling Baltic air space would be temporarily stationed at Lielvarde Air Force Base.
Estonia’s Emari base will provide repair services. Next year Germany will take over the air space patrol mission from Lielvarde base.
Estonian Minister of Defence Hanno Pevkur told journalists that Emari base had been in use for Baltic air space patrol missions for a decade. Now the base needs renovation. It is planned to commence renovation in spring of 2024. Six to eight months will be necessary to complete it.
Although until now Lielvarde Air Force Base was not used specifically to host the NATO Baltic air space patrol mission, it did meet all NATO standards. Various NATO air ships were stationed at this base regularly in the past, be they helicopters, large cargo planes or even fifth generation fighter jets, the Latvia’s Ministry of Defence said.
In May, Baltic ministers of defence agreed to significantly up their respective support to NATO allies performing patrols of Baltic air space.
This commitment was reinforced by the signing of a new joint agreement on the allocation of costs for the reception of NATO airspace patrols.
NATO member states have been performing air space patrol mission in Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia since March 2004, when the three were admitted to the alliance. Since 2004 the air space patrol mission has been performed from the Siauliai Air Force Base in Lithuania. Emari Air Force Base in Estonia joined the mission in 2014. (BNN/Business World Magazine)
