The first mission after joining NATO: Finnish Air Force to control the skies over Romania

In early June, seven Finnish Air Force F/A-18 fighter jets arrived at Mihail Kogelnicianu Air Base in Romania for Finland's first participation in NATO's air policing mission.

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Brigadier General Avraham Kazantzoglu, Deputy Commander of NATO's Southern Joint Air Operations Centre, handed over the mission readiness certificate to Lieutenant Colonel Rama Lindström, Commander of the Finnish F/A-18 detachment. In his speech, General Kazantzoglu thanked Romania and Finland for their generous contribution and unwavering commitment to making Europe's skies safer than ever before.

"There is no peace in the Euro-Atlantic area as our interests, values and democratic way of life are under threat, but NATO is determined to defend Allies' freedom and security against any threat," he said.

Finland joined NATO last year and will begin to take an active part in NATO missions. The two-month deployment to Romania will be the first major peacetime contribution of the Finnish Air Force to NATO's collective missions.

The seven Finnish F/A-18s will operate alongside Royal Air Force Typhoon fighters and Romanian F-16s. They will jointly respond to potential threats in Romanian airspace.

It is worth noting that in 2014, in response to Russia's illegal annexation of Crimea, NATO introduced enhanced air control missions in its eastern member states.

Source: Defence Industry Europe