VILNIUS, July 8. /TASS/. NATO leadership has transitioned the Baltic Air Policing Mission from a patrol to a combat-oriented role, Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda told the BNS news agency.

"One of the key outcomes of the NATO summit in Ankara was the decision to reclassify the NATO air policing mission as an air defense operation," Nauseda stated.

NATO allies oversee the airspace of the Baltic states, which do not possess their own aircraft. Since 2004, fighter jets from alliance member countries have been stationed on a rotational basis at Lithuania’s Zokniai Air Base. Additionally, since April 2014, a second segment of the mission has been based at Amari Air Base in Estonia.

Traditionally, air policing functions as a safeguard - similar to police maintaining public order - rather than a military engagement. However, this new military format will enable alliance fighters to participate directly in combat operations and better integrate into Lithuania’s broader defense strategies.