ITALIAN AIR FORCE Typhoons took
over responsibility for the Baltic Air
Policing (BAP) mission augmentation
role from the Belgian Air Component
during a ceremony at Ämari air
base, Estonia, on January 10. The
Belgian F-16AMs had been tasked
with the duty since September 4,- Meanwhile, the responsibility
for leading the BAP commitment
at Šiauliai air base, Lithuania, was
transferred from the US Air Force’s
493rd Expeditionary Fighter
Squadron to the Royal Danish Air
Force (RDAF). The latter’s F-16AMs
replaced the F-15Cs, which returned
to RAF Lakenheath, UK. The four
RDAF F-16s from Fighter Wing
Skrydstrup arrived at Šiauliai on
January 5 and a formal change-over
ceremony was held three days later.
It is the sixth time Denmark has
manned the mission.
Since the Baltic Air Policing
mission was established in 2004,
17 NATO air forces have conducted
45 detachments to Šiauliai.
Tom KaminskiFIRST JASDF F-35A ARRIVES AT MISAWA
THE JAPAN AIR Self-Defense Force
(JASDF) deployed a rst F-35A
Lightning II to Misawa Air Base
on January 26. The JASDF plans
to eld nine more aircraft at the
north-eastern base by the end
of March next year, to form its
rst Lightning II squadron. The ghter, serial 89-8706 (AX-06),
is the second of 38 that will be
assembled at the Mitsubishi Heavy
Industries Komaki South F-35 nal
assembly and check-out (FACO)
facility in Nagoya. The remaining
four aircraft (AX-01 to AX-04) were
completed in the United States.The JASDF’s fi rst operational F-35A arrives at Misawa AB. Serial
89-8706 is the second of 38 that will be assembled locally in
Japan. Staff Sgt Deana Heitzman/USAFPORTUGUESE ALPHA JETS RETIRED
THE PORTUGUESE AIR Force
o cially retired the Dassault/
Dornier Alpha Jet A in January.
The type had been received from
Germany in November 1993 and
had served for a little over 24 years
in the advanced training role with
Esquadra 103 at Beja air base.Portugal received a total of 50
Alpha Jets as compensation for
Germany’s use of Beja; some of
these aircraft were immediately
stored. In 2014 the Portuguese
defense ministry decided to
withdraw the type, by which time
20 examples remained in use.BALTIC AIR
POLICING SWAPS
ITALIAN AND DANISH FIGHTERS ARRIVE
Serial 15250 was among the fi nal seven Alpha Jet As that took part in
a farewell fl ypast at Beja on January 13, 2018. Rui FerreiraOn February 1, 2018, two Italian Air
Force Typhoons completed their
fi rst alert scramble, responding to
a Russian Navy An-26 transport
fl ying over the Baltic Sea with its
transponder switched off.
Italian Air Force[NEWS] WORLD
20 April 2018 //^ http://www.combataircraft.net
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