09/09/2014: Royal Air Force No 135 Expeditionary Air Wing (EAW) has formally handed over the role of supporting nation in the Baltic Air Policing (BAP) mission to the Royal Canadian Air Force, the United Kingdom’s Ministry of Defence says.
Credit:Natochannel:9/5/14
More from their news release:
The handover ceremony marked the conclusion of the four month deployment of four RAF Typhoon fighter aircraft that have been providing reassurance to the UK’s allies in the region.
Over the past 10 years the BAP mission has seen NATO allies deploy air defence aircraft to secure NATO’s airspace over the Baltic nations of Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania.
Additionally, the role of lead nation was handed over from the Polish Air Force to the Portuguese Air Force.
The British Ambassador to Lithuania, His Excellency David Hunt said:
The deployment of the RAF Typhoons has been seen as an act of solidarity during a period of genuine insecurity in Lithuania’s Eastern neighborhood. Our bilateral relationship is already close but the RAF’s augmentation of BAP has added another dimension to our growing defense cooperation.
NATO Baltic Air Policing mission video includes shots of Canadian CF-18 and Dutch C-130.