One of the German Air Force’s Eurofighters from the Tactical Air Force Wing 71 ‘Richthofen’ takes off from Rostock-Laage on 27 July. Credit: © Bundeswehr/Stefan Petersen.

The US Air Force (USAF) has deployed its F-22 Raptor fighter aircraft to support Nato’s Air Shielding mission in the European Theatre.

The aircraft has already arrived at RAF Lakenheath in the UK and will fly to the 32nd Tactical Air Base (AB) in Łask, Poland.

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The deployed aircraft are from the USAF’s 90th Fighter Squadron, 3rd Wing, based at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson (JBER) in Alaska.

However, the fighter jets will support the Nato’s mission as the 90th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron.

The F-22A Raptor aircraft can perform both air-to-air and air-to-ground missions that allows full realisation of the operational concepts required by the modern forces.

Besides, the integration with Nato allied and partners nations further showcases the commitment of alliance to deter and defend in complex and changing security conditions.

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The Air Shielding missions allow the integration of allied air, surface-based air and missile defence units into Nato’s Integrated Air and Missile Defence system, operating under Nato Command and Control (NCC).

The mission aims to safeguard the territory of Nato allied populations and forces from various air and missile threats.

On 27 July, five Eurofighter Typhoon jets of German Air Force flew to the Ämari AB in Estonia to support Nato’s Air Policing mission in the Baltics.

Four of the five aircraft belong to the Tactical Air Force Wing 71 ‘Richthofen’ from Wittmund while one belongs to Tactical Air Force Wing 31 ‘Boelke’ from Nörvenich.

The five fighter jets will take over the security mission from 1 August to protect Nato’s airspace in the Baltics region for next nine months.

According to the German Luftwaffe, the aircraft supplier performed machines and other safety checks on all the five aircraft before this latest deployment.