A new Belgian detachment of F-16s departed for Operation Enhanced Vigilance Activities in Estonia.

On Wednesday, October 5, 2022, three F-16s left Florennes Air Base for Estonia to participate in the deterrence mission as part of NATO's Enhanced Vigilance Activity (eVA). This detachment, made up of around 100 Belgian soldiers and six F-16s, will have the mission of guarding the Baltic airspace and NATO borders.

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Their mission will last until the beginning of November 2022 and includes training missions or armed missions (Picture source: Belgian Defence)

Three of the six Belgian F-16s departed from Florennes and three from Kleine Brogel. The Belgian detachment is made up of 97 soldiers, including ten pilots, as well as technical and support personnel, most of whom come from the 2nd Wing Tac in Florennes.

Their mission will last until the beginning of November 2022 and includes training missions or armed missions. ̋ ‟For training flights, we work in a multilateral framework thanks to the presence of other countries present with their air component and NATO ‛Battlegoups’ deployed in the East. We collaborate in an integrated way. It’s a training opportunity that we don’t get every day,” said Airman Lt. Col. Henuzet, 2W Tac Flight Group Commander.

Other missions involving the detachment will be armed missions: combat air patrol (CAP) and border patrol. During a CAP, the F-16s can perform armed interceptions if necessary. During Border Patrol, F-16s keep watch along NATO's eastern borders. In this way, they show their presence on the spot.

‟We take this opportunity to be deployed in an airspace other than the one in which we are used to working. We can practice our tactics and cooperate with our allies during exercises in order to continue to develop our interoperability”, explained Major Frippiat, commander of the detachment, on the arrival of the F-16s in Amari.