 2-6-0, multi-1-8, 0-7-0, when nose is cold, switch is safe, you're clear to join echelon left safe going to SLO During the last years, the Romanian commitment to NATO was increasing a lot and part of this is our contribution to Baltic air policing mission It's the second time we are here, first time we was back in 2007 with MiG-21s and now with F-16s It's really important for Romania to be here to demonstrate our commitment, our increased commitment to NATO and the contribution of Romania to safeguarding the NATO airspace We are really happy to work here together with our Portuguese partners and our Finnish partners Especially given the context of NATO summit, it's going to be held in just one week here in Lithuania We are here doing a contribution for the policing of the Baltic countries airspace So we are here since the 1st of April and we'll stay here till the end of July And we have four jets ready to scramble as you witness and to perform any mission required here in the Baltics Well, it's important, first of all, because we can give our contribution with what we know to do best which is this type of mission, the QRA, quick reaction alert At the same time, it's a great opportunity to train with the different partners from the different nations that are in the Baltic region and not only the air forces but as well some ground troops So it's the best opportunity that we have to practice together as a united force So we often get the question, why does NATO have to coordinate all these airspace activities? Because most countries in Europe, they do have their own air force and they do have the capabilities to intercept an authorised aircraft on their own But as you know, most countries in Europe are rather small So if you would have a traffic flying through European airspace, quite often it would only take like 10 minutes before it reaches the next country And in general, it will never take more than 30 to 45 minutes, so it would not be wise It would be suboptimal, let's go this way, to have the nations do that all separately over their territory So that's where NATO steps in, we try to coordinate at the European Union effort to make it both more efficient and more effective Because under NATO control, NATO fighters are allowed to cross into the neighbouring countries So we can actually continue the intercept throughout several NATO countries The air police mission over the Baltic Sea region is essentially still what it was years ago Because it is a peacetime air police mission and that mission as such has not changed over time But the Baltic Sea region is special for two reasons, first of all Because that's where we tend to see most of the Russian interactions, our interactions with the Russians Because the Russians have to basically fly from their enclave, can only get back to the Russian mainland along the coast of the three Baltic states So of course obviously that's where we didn't get to intercept them So that's where we see most of our day-to-day interaction with Russian assets But the second reason is that the three Baltic states, although they have their own air force, they like fighter jets So they don't have the means to actually intercept an authorized aircraft and that's where NATO steps in So we provide that framework for them by inviting other nations to deploy forces on a temporary basis to one of the Baltic states Well, Finland is now part of NATO, but they still need to fully integrate into the NATO air policing business And that's partly technical, it's partly procedural, but I mean we'll get there It's just a matter of time, it's going to go relatively fast Sweden will be the same case once they actually become a NATO member Well, for NATO, I mean Finland of course brings a lot of air capabilities to the table So they have a pretty robust air force with lots of, also with the Air One Ready Warning aircraft, intelligence collection aircraft So it's not only limited to fighters, they bring a lot of intel collection capabilities as well So yeah, of course they know their neighbour, the big neighbour to the east, rather well So NATO is gaining a lot from that expertise of course