Government of Canada to send CF-18s to Lithuania for NATO Baltic Air Policing mission

Upon the conclusion of training with NATO allies operating in Romania in August, Royal Canadian Air Force CF-18 aircraft will relocate to Lithuania to augment the NATO Baltic Air Policing (BAP) mission block 36 from September to December 2014.

• Operation REASSURANCE refers to the military activities undertaken by the CAF to support NATO Reassurance Measures through the provision of military capabilities for training, exercises, demonstrations and assigned NATO tasks.
• Canada has committed the following to NATO’s reassurance measures in Central and Eastern Europe: six CF-18 fighter aircraft, 24 CAF staff members to Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe, HMCS Regina in the Mediterranean, and Canadian Army soldiers to enhance NATO interoperability and readiness.
• While participating in the BAP, CF-18 Hornet crews will work with NATO allies and respond to any violations of Baltic air space.

“Our Government is steadfast in our support for Ukraine and will not stand idly by while its sovereignty and territorial integrity are threatened. We will continue to stand by our NATO allies to promote security and stability in Central and Eastern Europe. Through the hard work of our men and women in uniform, Canada will continue to demonstrate the strength of allied solidarity in response to Russian aggression,” said The Honourable Rob Nicholson, P.C., Q.C., M.P. for Niagara Falls and Minister of National Defence.

“Canadians can be proud that when the Government of Canada chose to stand with our NATO allies in support of Ukraine, the Canadian Armed Forces was ready – on the land, in the air, and on the sea. Our deployment of fighter aircraft to participate in NATO’s Baltic Air Policing mission is a further demonstration of Canada’s concern for the security situation in Central and Eastern Europe, and our resolute support for NATO’s collective defence,” said General Tom Lawson, Chief of the Defence Staff.