General Petr Pavel
Defence

NATO cut down Baltic mission because jets were not used, Czech general says

The NATO air policing mission in the Baltic states was cut down from September because more than half of the fighter-jets assigned to the mission had been standing idle for the past six months, says the head of the Alliance’s Military Committee General Petr Pavel. […]

Jens Stoltenberg, Dalia Grybauskaitė, Juozas Olekas
Defence

Lithuanian defence minster: NATO headquarters one more step strengthening security of whole Alliance

“The Establishment of a NATO headquarters in Lithuania and six other Allies testifies that NATO is taking all necessary steps to provide security to its member states and to be prepared to implement the tasks necessary to deter anyone attempting on the security and territorial integrity of any of the Allies,” the Lithuanian Minister of National Defence Juozas Olekas said at the inauguration of the NATO Force Integration Unit in Vilnius on 3 September. […]

No Picture
Defence

Lithuania to spend 2 percent on defence by 2018, president says

Lithuania hopes to reach a national defence spending level of 2 percent GDP by 2018, two years earlier than was originally estimated, Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaitė said on Thursday. […]

NATO lėktuvai perėmė Rusijos bombonešius
Defence

Outgoing Norwegian jets in Lithuania perform scrambles to intercept Russian planes

Outgoing Norwegian fighter jets, which were stationed in Lithuania as part of NATO‘s Baltic air policing missions, were scrambled on Monday, their last day of service, to intercept two Russian planes flying over the Baltic Sea. […]

Finish soldier at BALTOPS exercise
Defence

Defending Finland is not our direct obligation – Minister of Defence

Minister of National Defence, Juozas Olekas, says that Lithuania and NATO are not directly obligated to defend Finland in case it is attacked, yet he is sure the Alliance would likely find ways how to help. […]