According to the Dutch Ministry of Defence, this exercise aims to strengthen the common air and missile defence on NATO’s eastern flank. It is expected to be conducted this summer, the ministry stated. One of the priorities of this exercise will be the improvement of the capability to quickly deploy and achieve combat readiness of air defence units. Dutch personnel operating the PATRIOT air defence unit will train together with Lithuanian soldiers.
Dutch Minister of Defence Kajsaa Ollongren said the deployment of the Dutch unit of the PATRIOT air defence system in Lithuania would improve the readiness of NATO’s air defence.
According to a statement from the Polish Armed Forces, one of the long-range cruise missiles launched by the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation against targets in Ukraine violated the airspace of eastern Poland on March 24. The missile flew over Polish territory for 39 seconds at a speed of 800 km/h.
Read more: Kh-101 cruise missile – Russian weapon used in attacks on Ukraine [BRIEF]