Polish Air Force to protect the sky above Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia

onet.pl ^ | 05.18.2005 | kaiser80

[kaiser80]

Polish Air Force will be responsible for protecting the airspace of three Baltic States - NATO members: Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania.

Poland will send 4 MiG's-29 (2 one-seat versions, the rest 2-seat version) and 59 members of ground crew. Their base will be Siauliai airfield.

Two Mig's will be constantly ready for action, the rest stays on alert.

This dispatch is a part of NATO obligations.

[kaiser80]

What will be the comment of the russians? Another Polish provocation?

[Larry Lucido]

Great pic!

[Wiz]

ping!

[K. Smirnov]

Hmm. As a russian citizen I can say, that Poland can enjoy sending their planes to wherever they want as long as no violation of any international agreement happens.

If my memory serves me, Polish Air Force replaced Dutch Air Force on duty of protecting Baltic skies, right?

What else do you expect? Another lenghty forum full of nonsense?

[K. Smirnov]

The picture is pretty cool.

[Joe Boucher]

Another provocation by those ever militaristic Poles. The poor Russians, always being picked on by those nasty poles.

Hey Russia, ever get the feeling that the world has passed you by? You guys sleeping in caves and using wood to fuel your energy needs at this point? ha ha.

[varon]

Bump

[ken5050]

Question: Are the MiGs capable of mid-air refueling from NATO tankers?

[Capn TrVth]

The MiG-29SMT has a re-fuel probe, not sure if it's compatible with NATO's tankers though.

[Grzegorz 246]

Yes, this is a part of NATO mission. First there were I think 4 Belgian F-16s, now Dutch.

[Grzegorz 246]

No, maybe a few of those which were given by Luftwaffe, but they won't be send. In this case It's not really needed, because all these three countries together are smaller than most of US states.

[Chi-townChief]

Hey, did you hear the one about the Polish kamikaze pilot?

[ken5050]

Not sure if that's a valid argument..If a plane has to land to refuel..it's vulnerable...

[Grzegorz 246]

Sure It would be better If they had these abilities, but they will fly only a few years more, so their modernization would be rather pointless.

[ken5050]

Thanks for the info...if it has a probe, they should be able to retro-fit a compatible nozzle

[PigRigger]

Nice to hear the Russian perspective; were you born in Russia or were you naturalized?

I'm 42 and I remember the cold war like it was yesterday. Even with the current disagreements between our nations it is good that political discourse takes precedence over military threats.

You're correct; our two nations have more in common then we think. Hopefully, our governments understand this point as well. For the sake of the next generation, our nations best be strong allies if we hope to see western civilization, as we know it, survive.

BTW - nice grasp of the English language. You appear to have a better understanding of English grammar than most in my country.

[wtc911]

Apropos of nothing...I remember reading that more Social Security checks are sent to Americans living in Poland than to those in any other country. This injection of Americans retiring in the land of their fathers has to hsve some impact on the political landscape.

[Grzegorz 246]

Really ? I don't know any Americans, who live permanently in Poland.

[ken5050]

Well, the "largest" Polish city in the world is Chicago..

[wtc911]

And NYC (Astoria,Queens) is the second largest Greek city.