NATO resumes flights in Estonian airspace after Eurofighter incident

NATO’s training flights in Estonian airspace resumed on Monday after a pause following an incident with a Spanish military plane, TASS reported, citing Estonia’s Defense Ministry. The flights will continue “to ensure Estonia’s security,” Defense Minister Juri Luik said, adding that “full scale NATO air policing missions must be carried out in our airspace, including various air policing related combat training exercises.” The investigation of the incident is still underway after the “AMRAAM-type missile” was launched by a Spanish Eurofighter Typhoon 2000 near the village of Pangodi in the Tartu district on August 7, according to the minister. Spain has opened its own investigation to determine the circumstances surrounding the accidental firing of a missile. From September 2018, Germany will be taking over the responsibility of supporting the Baltic Air Policing mission from the Amari Air Base, the Estonian World reported. The mission’s aim is “to prevent unauthorized incursion into the airspace of the Baltic states.”