In a first, UK's Royal Air Force and Germany will conduct joint exercise in Estonia

London: UK Defense Secretary Ben Wallace has stated that Germany and the United Kingdom will engage in their first joint air operations over Estonia.

The Baltic nation, which borders Russia, will receive about 300 RAF personnel from the 140 Expeditionary Air Wing to oversee NATO air policing activities.

On actual “integrated” operations, the British pilots will fly alongside Typhoon aircraft from the German Air Force.

“Our RAF troops in Estonia are playing a crucial role, ensuring the security of Europe’s skies and bolstering Nato’s presence in eastern Europe,” Mr. Wallace said in praise of the NATO “unity” display.

The NATO alliance’s strength and cohesion, as well as our shared determination to uphold peace and security throughout the area, are demonstrated by joint operations of this nature.

For the next four months, the UK will head the long-standing NATO mission in Estonia, a member of the military alliance, in place of Germany.

The 140 Expeditionary Air Wing’s commanding officer, Wing Commander Scott Maccoll, said: “Since we’ve been working together for a while, our degree of cooperation has increased”.

“Working with our German allies on every facet of our mission, from logistics and planning to jet maintenance and operation, continues to be an absolute joy.

What more effective method is there to show the power and cohesion of the NATO Alliance than by carrying out successful joint operations like this?

The leader of the German Detachment, Lieutenant Colonel Christoph Hachmeister, stated: “Since we began this mission, we have been anticipating collaborating with our friends from the Royal Air Force in a real mission.

“In these challenging times, we can now show cooperation to safeguard our Baltic allies and NATO’s eastern flank.

“The foundation for a successful cooperation will be the many years of excellent practise in working together.”

Labour’s shadow defence minister John Healey said his party’s commitment to NATO cooperation with allies like Germany is “unshakeable”.
However, he continued, “the Conservatives’ poor management of defence initiatives like Wedgetails and cuts to military transport aircraft are casting doubt on the UK’s NATO responsibilities.