Baltics look to NATO for air defence support in new defence plans

Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia are asking fellow NATO members to ramp up the air defense support to secure the Baltic part of the military alliance’ Eastern Flank in case of an attack ahead of revamping defence plans for the NATO territory.

The Baltic countries would like to see increased “rotational air defence” to protect their territory, several NATO diplomats said, adding they see a “lack of capacity” as the war in Ukraine has laid bare the need for efficient air defence against attacks and the emptied stocks.

“We need new defence plans, particularly for the Eastern flank, and a solution to the air defence rotations in Eastern front countries”, Urmas Reinsalu, then-foreign minister of Estonia, said at the NATO ministerial meeting in April.