The French Air and Space Force has concluded its NATO Baltic Air Policing (BAP) deployment at Šiauliai Air Base, Lithuania, after completing two consecutive rotations in support of safeguarding NATO airspace over the Baltic region.
As part of the four=month deployment, Rafale C crews carried out joint counter-uncrewed aerial systems (C-UAS) missions with Estonian and Lithuanian partners to detect and engage training drones. One major milestone was when a French Rafale destroyed a drone over Latvia during an operational mission, marking the first operational employment of the MICA missile by the French Air and Space Force in the Baltic region.
“We come out of this mission stronger, alongside our allied partners,” a French detachment spokesperson said on 3 August. “Given the current threat around the world, we were able to work with our allies to adapt our training accordingly, especially in C-UAS.”
Ensuring the uninterrupted protection of NATO airspace, the French Air and Space Force detachment will now hand over responsibilities to the incoming Italian Air Force Detachment, who will conduct Air Defence mission from Šiauliai. This deployment marks a shift from NATO’s Air Policing mission to a broader Air Defence role, aimed at providing a more flexible approach across the alliance’s Integrated Air and Missile Defense framework within NATO’s area of responsibility.
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