Lithuania Calls on Sweden to Deploy Fighter Jets for NATO Patrols in Baltic States
Lithuania's Minister of Defence Laurynas Kasciunas urged Sweden to participate in NATO's mission to patrol the airspace of the Baltic region, conducted from Lithuania's territory, and to deploy its fighter jets in the country. This proposal was made during Kasciunas's meeting with his Swedish counterpart Pål Jonson, as reported by the Lithuanian Ministry of Defence press service.
"Defence plans of NATO, cooperation in the field of air and coastal defence and port protection, cyber threat analysis, defence industry, maritime situational awareness, and support for Ukraine are among the main topics of our frank conversation," Laurynas Kasciunas wrote on Twitter.
According to the Lithuanian Minister of Defence, the air forces of both countries would greatly benefit from information exchange, systematic integration, and procedure improvements. Additionally, the Lithuanian Minister of Defence expressed Vilnius's desire to make a rotational model of air defence (ADA) a permanent NATO activity.
"In July, the Netherlands will deploy their ADA Patriot systems in Lithuania, and this is a good start for implementing the rotational model," he noted, urging Stockholm to also consider such a possibility. The defence leaders of Lithuania and Sweden also discussed the potential intensification of cooperation between the defence-industrial complexes of the two countries, the increasing demand for arms and ammunition in Europe, assistance to Ukraine, and security challenges in the region.
Recall that The Gaze reported that as part of supporting NATO's eastern flank defence, British "Typhoon" fighter jets will be deployed in Poland to protect the country's airspace. This was announced by the Prime Minister of Great Britain Rishi Sunak during a joint press conference with the head of the Polish government Donald Tusk.
In addition to providing fighter jets for the defence of Polish skies, government leaders discussed the situation at the Polish-Belarusian border, frozen Russian assets, energy cooperation, and support for Ukraine. Sunak announced a new package of British aid to Ukraine, including millions of ammunition, hundreds of pieces of equipment, and long-range Storm Shadow missiles.