Steadying the Eastern Flank:F-35s Posted to Estonia,Romania

On 24 February 2022,six US Air Force F-35A Lightning II Joint Strike Fighters were forward deployed to air bases in the Baltic and Black Sea Regions.The Lockheed Martin warplanes are from the 34th Fighter Squadron out of Spangdahlem Air Base,Germany.They will provide enhanced Air Policing (eAP) capability to this sensitive line so near to Russia.eAP gives NATO a way to adapt to crises and scale up defensive missions as the security situation evolves.Some of the F-35s will be based Amari Air Base,Estonia to integrate with Belgian F-16 Fighting Falcons.The other JSFs will operate out of Fetesti Air Base,Romania to integrate with Romanian F-16s.Said General Jeff Harrigian,chief of NATO Allied Air Command and Commander,U.S. Air Forces Europe and Air Forces Africa: Our forces bring advanced capabilities to confront a full spectrum of threats to our Alliance.Our ability to move aircraft anywhere at a moment's notice assures our Allies and promotes balanced defense across the Alliance.* F-35s,with their unique capabilities for communications,command and control,and lethality,provide the combined joint force leaders flexibility for power projection and assertion of warfighting Air Dominance in the highly contested environments of the Regions.Since Russia illegally annexed Crimea and instigated a separatist movement among Russian speakers in the Donbas Region of Eastern Ukraine in 2014,NATO'S eAP has helped secure regional stability and foster Ally assurance to counter destabilising influences. The F-35's advanced Electronic Warfare capabilities enable pilots to locate and track enemy forces;jam their radars;and disrupt their attacks with unparalleled effect,thus outpacing key adversaries,according to Lockheed Martin.* Lockheed Martin (LMT)