Italian Air Force (Aeronautica Militare) jets have arrived at Ãmari Air Base, west of Tallinn, ahead of the official handover of the NATO Baltic Air Policing duties from the outgoing German Air Force (Luftwaffe) contingent.
The Italians are bringing their Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning IIs, marking the first time the state-of-the-art, fifth generation multi-role combat fighter has been seen in Estonia.
The Italians personnel s home is the Amendola Air Base in Foggia province, Italy, where their unit, the 13th Fighter-Bomber Squadron, is based.
They will be taking on the Baltic air policing duties from the Germans next week. NATO air forces often use the Ãmari posting to carry out valuable training exercises as well as the more quotidian tasks of identifying and sometimes escorting Russian Federation jets flying close to Baltic States air space.