For the first time, German fighters will operate from Poland on a NATO BAP mission

This year marks the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, which began in 1939 with the German invasion of Poland.

A Luftwaffe Eurofighter honors the most famous German aviator and his plane
The Polish Air Force has already completed its fleet of new FA-50GF Golden Eagle fighters

Ten years after the fall of communism, Poland joined NATO in 1999, making it a German ally today. This situation should heal the old wounds between the two countries, but the memory of the past is still very much alive in Poland (something that is understandable given the scale of the horrendous crimes perpetrated by Nazi Germany in that country).

NATO's Baltic Air Policing (BAP) missions began in 2004 to provide air protection for the three Baltic states (Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia), whose small air forces lack combat aircraft of their own to counter frequent Russian incursions into their airspace. Germany first participated in a BAP mission in June 2005, deploying four F-4F Phantom II fighters to Lithuania.

In response to Russia's illegal annexation of Ukraine's Crimea region, NATO began using Malbork Air Base in northern Poland in May 2014 to reinforce its BAP missions, which until now had only been carried out at Šiauliai Air Base in Lithuania (that same month they also began carrying out BAP missions at Ämari Air Base in Estonia). Since 2005, Germany has carried out 15 BAP missions, but all of them were in Lithuania and Estonia. No Luftwaffe fighter jet has been deployed to Poland on any of these missions.

This Monday, the Polish Armed Forces Operational Command made a historic announcement: "As part of strengthening NATO's collective defense, five German Air Force Eurofighter EF-2000 Typhoon fighters will be stationed at the 23rd Tactical Air Base in Mińsk Mazowiecki for the coming weeks. The aircraft will support airspace protection operations on the Alliance's eastern flank. This is another example of Allied cooperation and real commitment to ensuring the security of Central and Eastern Europe."

We are witnessing a historic moment that we must attribute, in large part, to the expansionism of Vladimir Putin's dictatorship. This will be the first time since World War II that Luftwaffe aircraft will operate regularly from Poland, but this time to protect the airspace of that country and the Baltic states from Russian incursions.

Mińsk Mazowiecki Air Base, opened in 2001, is located in eastern Poland, in the Mazovian Voivodeship. The Polish Air Force's latest MiG-29 fighters operate from it, as part of its 1st Tactical Air Squadron. These Soviet-made fighters are in the process of being replaced by the new KAI FA-50GF Golden Eagle, manufactured by South Korea. Let's hope this will be a good opportunity for German and Polish airmen to strengthen their alliance, leaving behind a dark and painful past shared by both countries.

---

Photos: Bundeswehr / Dowództwo Generalne Rodzajów Sił Zbrojnych.