Canada's Defense Ministry Announces Deployment of Griffon Helicopters to Latvia in NATO Reinforcement Initiative

Canada's Defense Minister Bill Blair announced plans to dispatch four Bell CH-146 Griffon multi-role helicopters to Latvia as part of a NATO deterrence mission during his visit to the Baltic country. The decision comes in the wake of discussions between Blair, Chief of Defence Staff Gen. Wayne Eyre, and Latvian leaders, accompanied by a visit to Canadian troops stationed at Camp ?dazi, located near Riga, where Canada heads a NATO battle group.

As a response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, NATO has strategic intentions to expand brigades along its eastern flank. Within this initiative, Canada had previously disclosed its intent to augment its troops in Latvia to approximately 2,200 by 2026, including the contribution of a squadron comprising 15 Leopard 2 tanks alongside associated personnel.

The tanks have already been delivered to Latvia, and an estimated 130 troops are anticipated to arrive next spring. Additionally, the arrival of the four Griffon helicopters is scheduled for next summer, signifying Canada's renewed tactical aviation presence in Europe since its involvement in missions in Kosovo and Bosnia during the 1990s and early 2000s.

Canada's Royal Canadian Air Force operates a fleet of 85 Griffons, in service since the 1990s. In a move to prolong their operational life until the 2030s, an $800-million upgrade contract was announced in 2022. The initial upgraded helicopter is slated for readiness next year, with all upgrades projected to conclude by 2028. Besides, Canada plans periodic deployments of Chinook helicopters to Latvia starting in the fall of 2025.

Furthermore, Canada has earmarked $15 million for infrastructural enhancements at Camp ?dazi, which currently accommodates around 1,700 troops, including 800 Canadians. The facilities at Camp ?dazi are visibly strained, necessitating improvements.

Canada's commitment involves deploying anti-armor weaponry and a short-range air defense system alongside its NATO contingent in Latvia in 2024, laying the groundwork for augmenting its presence to a complete brigade by 2026. Blair also announced plans for air defense radar and anti-drone systems to safeguard NATO troops in Latvia from the following year onward.

Canada leads NATO's Forward Enhanced Battle Group in Latvia, with 1,000 soldiers and an intended increase to 2,200 troops by 2026. Spain, contributing over 620 troops with armored fighting vehicles and tanks, partners with Canada in the NATO Battle Group. Notably, this represents the most extensive deployment of soldiers outside their respective home countries for both Canada and Spain.

Norway to send F16s to the Baltic

Norwegian F16 fighter jets will start flying over the Baltic next month and through the summer, to help NATO with routine patrols of the airspace over Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. The move comes at a time when neighbouring Russia has been flexing its military muscle in the area.
Norway’s participation in the NATO operation will run through August.
newsinenglish

Italian Typhoons Jets Scramble to Intercept Russian IL-78 Fuel Tanker Over Baltic Sea

Italian Eurofighter Typhoon jets protecting airspace over the Baltic states were deployed to intercept a Russian refueling aircraft over the Baltic Sea, Latvian National Armed Forces said via Twitter.
The IL-78 is an air-to-air refueling tanker and is part of a regiment based in western Russia's Ryazan Region nearly 200 kilometers southeast of Moscow.
Over the past few months, several NATO members have expressed concern over Russia's alleged violations of their airspace. The Russian Ministry of Defense retorted, however, that the Russian Air Force's routine flights are in compliance with international agreements and do not violate foreign airspace.
Moreover, the air force command criticized these allegations as distractions from NATO's military buildup in the Baltic region along Russia's western borders.
On Monday, over 120 armored units, including Abrams tanks and Bradley armored vehicles, arrived in Latvia from the United States. Similar equipment, including two groups of US paratroopers, is expected to arrive this week in neighboring Estonia to take part in joint military drills involving 13,000 soldiers.
The nearly year-long conflict in southeast Ukraine has served as justification for NATO's expansion in Eastern Europe.
sputniknews

Russian Jets Run Off By NATO Fighter Planes Over Baltic — Three Reported Incidents In Single Day

Russian jets flying over the Baltic Sea dangerously close to the border of NATO ally Latvia were intercepted and run off by NATO fighter planes in three separate incidents reported by Latvia’s military Sunday. The encounters were just the latest in what has been a record number of confrontations in the skies between Russian and NATO aircraft this year.
The appearance of Russian jets over the Baltic follows closely after Norway released a video last week of a Russian fighter jet cutting off a Norwegian military plane in mid-air, avoiding a disastrous collision by just 60 feet. The Norwegian military did not reveal when the frightening near-miss took place.
In the first incident, reported Sunday evening Latvian time, NATO F-16 jets stationed in the Baltic as part of the NATO policing mission there took off to intercept a squadron of six Russian jets skirting Latvian air space.
The Russian jets included four Tu-95 bombers and two Tu-22 bombers similar to the Tu-22 pictured above.
In the second Sunday incident reported by the Latvian military about two hours after the first, Canadian Hornet fighter jets took off to catch up to four more Russian aircraft.
The Russian jets this time included three Tupelov Tu-134 jets — which double as commercial airliners and military planes — of the type pictured below.
The final showdown in the skies Sunday between Russian jets and NATO fighters took place sometime after 10 p.m. Latvian time, when NATO planes intercepted two more Tu-134 jets an another AN-72.
All of the incidents took place over neutral waters in the Baltic Sea. The Baltics have been the site of dozens of aerial encounters between Russian jets and NATO fighters throughout 2014, in what military and political experts see as a return to Cold War tensions.
inquisitr

NATO F-16 Jets Intercept Russian IL-20 Spy Plane, Latvia Says

NATO F-16s based in the Baltic region intercepted a Russian IL-20 surveillance plane, Latvia’s army said today. The encounter took place near Latvia’s territorial waters, it said. Ukraine’s military said Russia’s airforce had put some of its units on high alert.
The increased activity coincides with wrangling between Russia, the U.S. and the European Union over the future of Ukraine, where a September cease-fire is wobbling. NATO tracked Russian military planes that included fighter jets, long-range bombers and tankers over the Baltic region, the North Sea and the Atlantic Ocean for three days in late October.
Russian Air Force command put units of military transport planes near the Moscow and Ryazan regions on high alert, Ukrainian military spokesman told reporters today in Kiev. IL-76 transport planes may be used to bring troops and equipment to Ukraine’s border, he said.
NATO says interceptions in 2014 have now reached 100, three times last year’s total. The alliance pledged in September to bolster the defenses of frontline states in eastern Europe in response to Russian actions in Ukraine.
bloomberg

NATO Baltic Jets Intercept Russian Airplanes for Third Day

NATO jets in the Baltic countries intercepted two Russian military aircraft today as the alliance said Russian air activity has surged on its borders.
F-16 jets from NATO’s Baltic air policing mission intercepted a Russian Su-27 fighter and Eurofighter aircraft later shadowed an IL-76 military transport plane, Latvia’s army said on its Twitter account. It reported interceptions of seven Russian jets yesterday and on Oct. 28.
Amid tensions with the Kremlin over the crisis in Ukraine, North Atlantic Treaty Organization jets have tracked more than 100 Russian aircraft so far this year, more than triple the number in 2013.
Russians are exercising and moving aircraft in the Baltic area between St. Petersburg and the Kaliningrad exclave much more than they did in the past as a result of higher military spending.
NATO warplanes monitored four groups of Russian military aircraft conducting “significant” maneuvers in European airspace over the Baltic, North and Black seas, the alliance said in a statement today.
Repeated Incidents
While most interceptions don’t involve airspace incursions, Latvia’s northern neighbor Estonia and non-aligned Finland have reported repeated incidents this year where Russian aircraft violated their airspace. Sweden staged its biggest naval mobilization since the Cold War earlier this month in a week-long hunt for a suspected foreign vessel in the Stockholm archipelago.
Russian warplanes practiced a bombing mission against Denmark’s Baltic Sea island of Bornholm in June, the Jyllands-Posten newspaper reported, citing information from military intelligence.
bloomberg

Finland boosts aircraft readiness following Russian incursions

In response to heightened tensions caused by the crisis in Ukraine, the Finnish Air Force has stepped up and strengthened its aerial drills on 6 October.
Air-to-air combat drills are to take place from Rovaniemi, Oulu, Kuopio-Rissala, and Pudasjärvi air force bases in the north, while surveillance sorties are concentrating in the south.
Operational reforms have enabled an increase of 20% more annual training flights. The Finns are now conducting three sorties daily with between 6 and 10 aircraft, rather than its usual 4 to 8 aircraft.
The drills are to include a high proportion of night flying, as well as refuelling over the Baltic Sea, over which airspace violations have been recently mounting.
In August there were three airspace incursions by Russian aircraft, after which the Finnish government publicly confirmed the violations, having previously pursued a more low-key approach.
In September Finnish Boeing F/A-18 Hornet fighter-interceptor jets were scrambled without incursion confirmation; concurrently, however, a multi-aircraft Russian reconnaissance incursion was confirmed by Latvian armed forces.
janes

Royal Canadian Air Force begins Baltic Air Policing mission

The Canadian Air Task Force (ATF) officially joined NATO’s Baltic Air Policing (BAP) mission following a hand-over ceremony yesterday in Siauliai, Lithuania, as Canada’s continues to promote security and stability in Central and Eastern Europe in the face of increasing Russian hostility.
Four CF-18 Hornet aircraft and more than 130 airmen and airwomen from the Royal Canadian Air Force will work with NATO Allies from September to December 2014, to preserve the integrity of the airspace of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, and react to any intrusions.
The Canadian ATF recently relocated to Siauliai, Lithuania, from Câmpia Turzii, Romania, where they had conducted training with their NATO Allies from early May until August 22. The Canadian ATF arrived in Siauliai on August 26.
Based on the operational requirements for the BAP mission, four of the CF-18 Hornets which deployed to Romania were relocated to Lithuania to participate in BAP. Two Canadian aircraft will remain in Europe. The decision about the number of Canadian aircraft required for participation in BAP was made following planning and coordination with NATO and Canada’s Allies.
Portugal, Netherlands, Germany and Canada are all contributed forces to the BAP mission. Canada and Portugal will be operating side by side out of Siauliai Air Base in Lithuania.
The Canadian ATF based in Lithuania is composed of personnel from 2 Wing and 3 Wing Bagotville, Quebec; 4 Wing Cold Lake, Alberta; 8 Wing Trenton, Ontario;14 Wing Greenwood, Nova Scotia;17 Wing Winnipeg, Manitoba; and 22 Wing North Bay, Ontario. These personnel include aircrew and personnel who provide operational support to air assets, such as force protection, intelligence, aerospace management and maintenance coordination.
airforce.forces.gc.ca

Three B-52 Stratofortress bombers have arrived at RAF Fairford, UK, for a mini-deployment lasting two weeks.

On Jun. 4, two U.S. Air Force B-52 from AFB Barksdale, and one from Minot AFB, landed at RAF Fairford, England, for a short deployment.
The aircraft relocated to Europe to conduct training activity in the U.S. European Command area of operations, to provide opportunities for aircrews to sharpen skills in several key operational sets and become familiar with airbases and operations in the region.
Although the official release does not mention it, a patch produced for the deployment suggests that the B-52s were deployed to take part in the Baltops and Saber Strike 2014 exercises.
Whereas Baltic Operations (BALTOPS) 2014 is an annual multinational maritime exercise held in the Baltics with assets from 13 participating nations involved in training scenarios that include air, surface, subsurface and mine warfare, Saber Strike is a U.S. Army Europe-led security cooperation exercise which, focuses, on the three Baltic States: Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia.
Once there was Pivot to Asia. Nowadays there is a Pivot to the Baltics.
During the deployment to Fairford, lasting about two weeks (and according to rumors involving more B-52s coming from U.S. airbases in the next few days), a Stratofortress will also take part in the 70th anniversary D-Day commemoration.
theaviationist

Russia Starts Combat Helicopter Training Flights on Baltic Border

A newly formed Russian army helicopter brigade has begun training flights in the northwest of the country near the borders with the Baltic states of Estonia and Latvia.
The flights involve dozens of Mi-28N Night Hunter and Ka-52 Alligator attack helicopters as well as Mi-8MTV-5 and Mi-26T.
The 15th army aviation brigade, formed in December and stationed at the Ostrov airbase, is fully equipped with new, recently-built helicopters. The brigade currently comprises three helicopter squadrons, with two more to be added in the near future.
Media in the former Soviet Baltic states, as well as Germany, Poland and the United Kingdom, have expressed security concerns about Russia’s decision to station the 15th brigade near NATO’s borders.
Russian Defense Minister earlier announced the beginning of military drills of units from the Southern and Western military districts near the borders with Ukraine and the Baltic states in response to an “unprecedented” increase of NATO military activity near Russia amid the Ukrainian crisis.
The combat drills come as NATO is ramping up its military presence in the region.
NATO Secretary General announced earlier this month that the alliance would intensify air patrols over Eastern Europe and dispatch extra ships to the Baltic and Mediterranean Seas due to the crisis in Ukraine.
The Russian Foreign Ministry said that NATO was attempting to use the Ukrainian crisis as an imaginary threat to unite the alliance’s members and to push for Moscow's isolation
ria.ru

United Kingdom dispatching 4 fighter jets to patrol airspace over Baltic states

Britain is dispatching four Typhoon fighter jets to patrol the airspace of Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.
They will perform their patrolling mission alongside with six fighter jets of the Polish Air Force and will serve as a replacement for six F15 jets of the US Air Force.
British Defense Secretary said the Typhoons would support Poland’s contribution to the operation destined to calm down the apprehensions of easternmost member-states of the North-Atlantic pact.
The effort also involves more than 50 members of ground personnel.
itar-tass

4 Army units heading to Eastern Europe

The U.S. military in Europe is sending four company-sized infantry units, a total of about 600 soldiers, to Eastern Europe, the latest effort to reassure NATO allies in light of Russian aggression in Ukraine.
Four countries — Poland, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia — each will receive a company of paratroopers from the U.S. Army’s 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team based in Vicenza, Italy.
U.S. European Command will maintain a rotation of ground forces in those countries for at least the next several months. The companies will conduct live-fire training exercises with local military forces for about one month, then will depart and be replaced by another U.S. Army company.
Last week NATO announced that it would have “more planes in the air, more ships on the water and more readiness on the land” but details of those additional operations have not been made public.
The Army deployment marks the first sustained addition of ground forces into Eastern Europe since Russia’s invasion of the Ukraine’s Crimea region began in late February.
The Pentagon expects to announce further U.S. troop deployments within NATO soon.
Last week, USA extended until the end of the year the deployment of about 200 airmen and Air Force F-16 fighters and C-130 cargo planes in Poland.
At Powidz Air Base, also in Poland, U.S. Air Force KC-135 tankers also are temporarily flying daily missions to refuel NATO-owned surveillance aircraft tracking Russian military movements along the eastern frontiers of Poland and Romania.
militarytimes

Canada Sends Fighter Jets To Eastern Europe

Canada is deploying six CF-18 fighter jets to Eastern Europe as part of NATO’s response to the worsening crisis in Ukraine.
NATO has increased air sorties and additional navy ships in the region as Ukrainian and pro-Russian forces face off.
Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania — which border Russia and have sizeable ethnic Russian populations — have all sought reassurances, as have Ukraine’s neighbors Poland and Romania.
Canadian minister said he is concerned about “expansionism on the part of Russia under the presidency of Mr. Putin.
“I believe this to be a long-term serious threat to global peace and security, and we’re always prepared to work with our allies in NATO and elsewhere to try and bring whatever stability we can to the situation.”
The United States has also sent fighter aircraft to the Baltic states and Poland, to bolster confidence in member countries once ruled by Moscow.
defensenews

Denmark to send six fighter jets to Baltics in May

Denmark is to send six F16 fighter jets to the Baltic countries Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia to help patrol their airspace.
Patrols will begin on May 1 and will be part of an expanded NATO air policing mission to reassure eastern members of the alliance following Moscow's annexation of Crimea after a referendum in the peninsula on joining Russia from Ukraine.
This is a signal especially to the Baltic countries that NATO stands shoulder to shoulder with Baltics and of course also a signal to Russia that we take NATO seriously," Lidegaard said after a meeting of parliament's foreign policy committee on Thursday.
Since the Baltic states joined NATO in 2004 several members of the alliance have made ​​aircraft and personnel available to monitor and enforce sovereignty of their air space.
U.S. President Barack Obama said on Wednesday that NATO needed to boost its presence in eastern European countries that feel vulnerable to Russia after the Crimea annexation.
Moscow says the people of Crimea exercised their right to self determination.
reuters

Italian Air Force getting ready for NATO’s Baltic Air Policing mission

On 27 January 2014 two members of the Italian Air Force flew in at the Air Base in Šiauliai with two Eurofighter Typhoon fighter-jets and a Boeing KC-767A refuelling tanker.
Till Thursday the Italian airmen will be training in the Baltic airspace in advance of NATO’s Air Policing mission in the Baltic States which Italy is to take over for the first time in January 2015.
Italian troops with four Eurofighter Typhoon fighter-jets whose tour of duty at the Šiauliai Ari Base will run for four months starting with January 2015 have arrived to familiarise with climatic conditions in Lithuania and the NATO mission.
lithuaniatribune

US Fighter Jets to Patrol Baltic Airspace

The US Air Force will patrol the airspace over the Baltic states for four months starting from January.
Four US F-15C Eagle fighter jets will replace the current Belgian F-16AM.
A round-the-clock mission to guard the airspace over Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia has been conducted since 2004 when the ex-Soviet republics joined NATO. The three states do not have their own air assets to ensure safety and security of national and NATO airspace.
Patrols have been carried out on a three- to four-month rotation basis by 14 NATO states. Deployments usually comprise four fighter planes and between 50 and 100 support personnel.
ria.ru

Latvia Sounds Alarm Over Russian Warplane Flights

Latvia’s defense minister on Wednesday slammed frequent flights by Russian warplanes near the country’s airspace.
Flights by Russian Air Force aircraft are not only a show of force but also part of a military training program, Latvian Defense Minister Artis Pabriks said in an interview broadcast on Latvian TV Wednesday.
“We cannot treat this lightly,” he said. “Obviously, they are not flying there just for the fun of it – because they have nothing better to do.”
On Monday NATO fighters that police Baltic airspace identified eight Russian warplanes flying close to the border of Latvia’s territorial waters, one Il-70 transport aircraft, two Su-24 fighter jets and five Su-34 fighters, the Latvian National Armed Forces press service said.
Last Friday, NATO jets spotted a Russian Il-20 aircraft near the Latvian border.
Despite the widespread media coverage of these concerns there has been no official response from the Russian Defense Ministry.
Since March 2004, when the Baltic States joined NATO, a round-the-clock mission to police Baltic airspace has been conducted on a three to four-month rotation basis from Lithuania's First Air Base in Zokniai, near the northern city of Šiauliai. Deployments usually comprise four fighter planes and between 50 and 100 support personnel.
rian

Belgian fighter-jets landed Lithuania to take over of the Baltic Air Policing mission

On 2 September 2013, four F-16 Fighting Falcon fighter-jets of the Royal Belgian Air Force landed at the Šiauliai Air Base, Lithuania to take charge of NATO’s Air Policing mission over the Baltic States.
The Air Contingent of the Royal Belgian Air Force took over the responsibility of protecting Lithuanian, Latvian and Estonian airspace from French military at a formal ceremony on 3 September.
lithuaniatribune

Hungarian Aircraft to Perform Air Policing Over Slovenia, Baltic States

Under the terms of a NATO agreement, the fighter aircraft of the Hungarian Air Force will perform air policing over Slovenia and the Baltic States in the near future, Minister of Defence Csaba Hende announced at an event held in Miskolc on Tuesday, November 13.

defencetalk

Se pide precaucion a miembros de la OTAN en ventas de material militar a no aliados/ Caution Urged on Sales to Non-NATO Members

El ministro de defensa de Letonia, ha urgido a que existan consultas entre los países miembros de la OTAN, antes de realizar ventas de armamento a países no aliados. Rusia ha entablado conversaciones con Francia, Holanda y España, para la venta de buques de asalto anfibio, y el ministro ha citado a un general ruso, que ha declarado que si Rusia hubiera dispuesto de este material, podrían haber atacado Georgia, el pasado 2008, en 40 minutos, en lugar de en 24 horas. El ministro habló de lo peligroso de estas posibles ventas, y que las decisiones deberían tomarse al amparo del artículo 4 del tratado de Washington, que habla de la necesidad de consultas entre los países miembros de la OTAN, ante las decisiones que pongan en peligro la integridad territorial, la independencia política o la seguridad de los países miembros.
El secretario de defensa de España, no ha realizado ninguna declaración sobre la posibilidad de que la española Navantia venda buques de asalto a Rusia, pero ha dicho que de producirse se haría en cumplimiento de las normas de la Agencia Europea de Seguridad, sobre exportación de material de Defensa.
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Latvian Defense Minister urged consultation among allied countries when NATO members consider selling power-projection equipment to non-allies.
Russia has recently been in discussions with France, the Netherlands and Spain about the purchase of an assault ship and stated that a Russian general said that if he had had this equipment at the time of the attack on Georgia, it could have been done in 40 minutes and not 24 hours. Latvian Minister said there should be open consultation with all NATO countries before a sale is made, as it is very dangerous for decisions to be taken by countries without discussion, according to Article 4 of the Washington Treaty that states that the Parties will consult together whenever, in the opinion of any of them, the territorial integrity, political independence or security of any of the Parties is threatened
Luis Manuel Cuesta Civis, secretary general of defense policy at Spain's Ministry of Defense, would not comment on shipbuilder Navantia's chances of winning the order from Russia, but said that the tender is in compliance with the European Defence Agency's code of conduct on the export of defense material. He also said the tender complied with a new law creating strict controls, which had been passed in Latvia in 2008.
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