On April 30, 2021, four Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightning II fighters of the Italian Air Force arrived at Emari Air Base in Estonia to participate on an eight-month rotation basis in the NATO mission to patrol the airspace of the Baltic States (Baltic Air Policing - VAR). This is the first deployment of fifth-generation fighter jets in the NATO Baltic mission, and the first relatively long-term deployment of the F-35A in close proximity to the Russian borders in the West.
One of the four first arrived at the Estonian air base Emari to participate in the NATO mission to patrol the airspace of the Baltic States (Baltic Air Policing - VAR) fifth-generation Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightning II fighters from the 13th group of the 32nd Regiment of the Italian Air Force. The aircraft has the Italian tail number 32-07 (serial number AL-07, US military number 14-5108, Italian military number MM7357). 30.04.2021 (c) NATO
Four Italian F-35As are part of the 13th Group (13° Gruppo) of the 32nd Regiment (32° Stormo) of the Italian Air Force and flew to Emari from the Italian air base Amendola, accompanied by a Boeing KC-767A tanker aircraft of the Italian Air Force, which will support their deployment in Estonia. The Italian fighters will form the so-called Task Group Falco as part of the Baltic Eagle II mission and will replace the German Air Force Eurofighter fighters that have been in Emari since the end of August 2020. For the Italian Air Force, this is the second deployment as part of the VAR in Estonia - in 2017, four Italian Eurofighter fighters were deployed in Emari as part of the Baltic Eagle I mission.
Italian F-35A fighters with tail numbers 32-07, 32-10, 32-11 and 32-12 (corresponding serial numbers AL-07, AL-10, AL-11 and AL-12) arrived in Emari. In total, the Italian Air Force has so far received 13 F-35A fighters out of 60 ordered, of which the first two are in the United States for training personnel, and the remaining 11 are part of the 13th Group of the 32nd Regiment of the Italian Air Force at Amendola Air Base. Also, the Italian armed forces ordered 30 F-35B modification aircraft, of which three were delivered.
The Italian air force in the lead among U.S. allies in the development of the F-35 aircraft, announcing the achievement of the status of initial operational capability (IOC) Istrebiteli F-35A in the composition of the 32nd regiment March 1, 2018 (the first outside of the US armed forces), and in 2019 and 2020 by two deployment of its F-35A on rotation in the mission of NATO's air policing of Iceland.
The current deployment of the Italian F-35A is not the first appearance of these fighters in Estonia - in May 2017, two F-35A fighters from the 34th Fighter Squadron of the 388th Fighter Wing of the US Air Force arrived at the Estonian Emari air base on a short demonstration visit.
Arrival of four fifth - generation Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightning II fighters from the 13th Group of the 32nd Regiment of the Italian Air Force to participate in the NATO mission to patrol the airspace of the Baltic States (Baltic Air Policing-VAR). 30.04.2021 (c) NATO
