Airforces Monthly - February 2017

BALTIC AIR POLICING
have only ‘visual relationships’, but I
must admit that courtesy has always
been well remarked by our side.
“I do believe we share a passion for
jets, and who couldn’t enjoy flying with
foreign aircraft? Moreover, they’re not
interceptions following infringements
but only identification measures in
international airspace. That’s why pilots
are courteous between themselves.”
Under NATO’s integrated air defence
concept, air policing of the Baltic states
is carried out in a similar way to the
QRA mission flown back home. But the
challenges of operating from a deployed
location are evident, especially when
only four or five aircraft are on hand,
and spares may be a day or more away.
At Ämari, a Luftwaffe maintenance
team of around 75 personnel was tasked
with keeping four of five Eurofighters
ready for take-off, with the remaining
jet held as a spare or in maintenance.
While there were only two jets ready
at the time of AFM’s visit to the base,
the team spoke of average availability
of 90%, with five maintainers on hand
to support four aircraft over a 24-hour
period. EJ200 engines had been changed
out on three occasions during the
deployment, and delivery time for spare
parts was normally two to three days.
As winter set in, cold and icy conditions
compounded the maintenance challenges.
Eurofighter GmbH made much of the
Luftwaffe contingent’s ability to operate in
wintry weather, probably with an eye on
Finland’s upcoming HX fighter competition.
Baltic winter weather was less of a
concern for the French in Lithuania, as
Maj Mathieu explained towards the end
of the rotation in late December: “Until
now, we haven’t faced much snow or icy
conditions. The Šiauliai air base is very
reactive to snowfall, and the runway and
taxiways have always been practicable.
Currently, the main reason for cancelling
some pre-planned sorties has been fog.”
Assessing the Mirage 2000, the major said:
“Flying the Mirage 2000-5 for many years
now, I’ve always been surprised by how it
is serviceable compared to other jets. By
having four jets deployed at Šiauliai, we can
easily take-off as a pair to train, while the
two spares are still ready to get airborne.”
With all four Mirages available for
duty, it was examples of these fighters
that scrambled to intercept the first
Russian Navy Su-30SM multi-role
fighter delivered to Kaliningrad, on
December 13, during AFM’s visit to the
Eurofighter detachment in Estonia.
The jet, ‘70 Blue’, was the first
example of the two-seat fighter to
be delivered to Chernyakhovsk Naval
Aviation Base in the Russian enclave.
“We were lucky seeing a Su-30SM,”
Maj Mathieu remarked. “It was a great
opportunity to fly together with jets we
usually never see. Nevertheless, whatever
the kind of aircraft we were sent to, our
first goal was safety, as there’s absolutely
no reason to put someone or something
in danger to get a cool picture.”
The Estonian viewpoint
While the Baltic states entrust the mission
of sovereignty to their NATO allies, there’s
no doubting the wider importance of
the detachments, especially at a time
of heightened East-West tensions.
As the Luftwaffe took charge of the
42nd rotation, Estonian Minister of
Defence Hannes Hanso said: “I would
like to remind us all that merely three
years ago there were no allied members
rotating in Ämari and we lived in a
different security environment.
“Let me assure you that your presence
here is not taken for granted and it
sends a strong signal that NATO is
able to adapt to the new security
environment and we are all united. I
am grateful for your contribution
and the feeling of security... you have
provided to NATO and people of Estonia.
Actions speak louder than words.”
The BAP mission began to be augmented
by a second detachment, operating from
Ämari, as part of the alliance’s assurance
measures to its Eastern members after
NATO’s Wales summit in 2014, in the wake
of Moscow’s activities in eastern Ukraine.
A former Soviet Naval Aviation base
which once housed Su-24 strike aircraft,
Ämari is now under the command of
Lt Col Ülar Öhmus and an Estonian Air
Force contingent which works hard to
make the most of modest resources:
while Estonia’s defence expenditure
amounts to a healthy 2.05% of GDP, it
leaves only around €16m for the air force.
After the base was reconstituted
in 2007, Ämari underwent complete
renovation between 2008 and 2012, NATO
funds helping create infrastructure to
support 12 fighters and four transport
aircraft. Local funds went towards
establishing a larger cargo ramp and
the capability to process 20 cargo
aircraft flights in a 24-hour period.
Estonia has also made efforts to
collaborate with non-NATO allies, buying
two GM-403 active electronically scanned
array radars in conjunction with Finland.
They are deployed as part of an Estonian
surveillance network that also includes
a TPS-77 long-range radar, an ASR-8
airport surveillance radar at Ämari and
a Vera-E passive radiolocation system.
The Estonian Air Force fleet, housed
at Ämari, currently comprises one An-2
utility biplane, two pristine L-39 Albatros
jet trainers and four Robinson R44
light helicopters. In 2016 the An-2 flew
125 hours, the R44s 570 hours and the
L-39s 235 hours, primarily in support
of training by the Estonian Army, Navy
Above: A Luftwaffe Eurofighter of Taktisches
Luftwaffengeschwader (TaktLwG) 74, armed and
ready at Ämari. Christian Timmig/Luftwaffe
and forward air controllers (FACs).
Replacement of the An-2 is a
priority, and the air force is hopeful
of securing a surplus US Air Force
C-145 (PZL Mielec M28) this year.
Increased public backing for NATO in
the Baltic states has paralleled Russia’s
more belligerent stance in Eastern
Europe. According to the Estonian
Defence Ministry, support for NATO
membership increased from 54% in
May 2000 to 89% by October 2016.
It is perhaps no surprise that reported
border violations by Russian aircraft
peaked in 2016, with 11 incidents by
December 1. So-called safety incidents
have also steadily increased since 2007,
from seven that year to a peak of 293
in 2015, and 181 by December 1, 2016.
An in-cockpit shot from
one of the French Alpha
scrambles with a Su-27UB.
Armée de l’Air
The Estonian Defence Ministry defines a
safety incident as an air traffic controldefined
event; for example, a Russian
aircraft flying close to other traffic.
Looking ahead, the Estonian Air
Force is confident it will boost the
number of fighter spaces at Ämari
to provide for an expanded capacity
during BAP or NATO exercises.
At the end of the 42nd rotation,
responsibility for the BAP mission in
Lithuania transferred to the Royal
Netherlands Air Force (RNLAF) as
lead nation on January 5. Unusually,
the augmented nation remained
the same – a German contingent
continuing the mission in Estonia.
After the Dutch, the next lead nation
will be Poland, which for the first time
will deploy its F-16C/D Block 52+ aircraft
from the 31. Baza Lotnictwa Taktycznego
(31st Tactical Air Base) at Poznań.
The augmenting nation for this rotation
had not been disclosed when this article
went to press, but there are rumours
that its aircraft may be temporarily
located in Šiauliai owing to planned
runway maintenance at Ämari.
www.airforcesmonthly.com #347 FEBRUARY 2017 89