Defense News Updates

 U.S. Marine Corps F-35B Lightning II aircraft assigned to Marine Fighter Attack Squadron (VMFA) 121 conduct flight operations aboard Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, Japan, Aug. 18, 2020. VMFA-121 is the first forward deployed Marine F-35B squadron, capable of providing close air support and conducting strike missions in support of a free and open Indo-Pacific. (U.S. Marine Corps video by Cpl. Jackson Ricker and Lance Cpl. Katie Markwald) 

 the French Air Force started flying NATO’s air policing missions in Estonia, contributing four Mirage 2000 fighter aircraft. The mission lasts for four months and sees the French deployed to Ämari Air Base in Estonia, supported by Spanish and UK pilots situated in Siauliai Air Base, Lithuania. NATO’s Baltic Air Policing mission is a defensive deployment that sees Allies sending planes to patrol the airspace of the three Baltic States, who do not have fighter jets of their own. The Air Policing programme keeps fighter pilots on alert 24/7 and ready to scramble in case of suspicious air activity near the borders of Baltic Allies. Footage includes various shots of the pilots’ day-to-day activities at the air base and GoPro footage shot by the pilots performing training manoeuvres in the skies above Estonia.