NATO Baltic Air Defense Mission Replaces 22-Year Air Policing Operation as Turkish F-16s Deploy to Estonia

As agreed by allied leaders at the Ankara summit, NATO's Baltic Air Policing mission formally became a NATO Air Defense operation on August 1, 2026, ending more than 22 years of continuous Air Policing over Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. The new operation gives NATO pilots expanded authority to engage hostile targets — primarily drones — through the military chain of command, without the mandatory manual political-level coordination required under the old mission. On July 31, Portuguese Air Force personnel formally handed over Baltic air surveillance to the Turkish Air Force's 181st Squadron at Ämari Air Base, Estonia; by August 1, five Turkish F-16s and 76 personnel were in place, deployed through November 30.