In May 2019, the Hungarian Air Force took over the lead of NATO’s Baltic Air Policing Mission based at Šiauliai Air Base in Lithuania. Baltic Air Policing is a peacetime mission, one of several focused on safeguarding the skies of Allied nations against unsafe air traffic. Air policing takes place throughout the Alliance 365 days a year. Since assuming command, the Hungarians have scrambled three times to intercept Russian military aircraft passing through international airspace. NATO air policing aircraft scramble whenever unidentified air traffic either fails to send an identification code or respond to hails from air traffic controllers. Footage includes shots of a training scramble, including shots of pilots rushing to their JAS 39 Gripen fighters, maintenance crews prepping the aircraft for launch, and fighters taking off and landing. Interview: Hungarian Air Force Brigadier General Csaba Ugrik.
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