Spanish air force pilots on Tuesday began a four-month NATO mission to patrol the skies of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.
The Spanish contingent, comprising 84 officers and pilots flying four Mirage F-1 fighter planes, took over the air police mission from Turkey.
The Baltic News Service reported that a formal handover ceremony took place at the Zokniai air base in northern Lithuania, where the NATO patrols are based.
Older members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation have taken turns patrolling Baltic air space since March 2004, when Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania joined the military alliance.
The three Baltic countries, which emerged from Soviet rule 15 years ago, do not have the necessary aircraft to police their skies themselves.
