Air defense of the Baltic states. Looking toward the future

Abstract

The article offers the discussion of the origins, current state and the future of air defence of the Baltic states. It tries to relate developments in the field of air defense to changes in security environment, and defence polices of the Baltic states. The article starts with a retrospection on origins and developments of air defence of the Baltic states before they joined NATO. Then it focuses on early years of integration with NATO Integrated Air Defense System and implications for air defence of the Baltic states related to changes in the security of the Euro-Atlantic region stemming from Russian aggressive actions. An assessment of current posture of air defence of the Baltic states serves as a starting point for the discussion on requirements for future developments, and predicting possible outcomes. The research uses unclassified, publicly available documents and analytical reports to provide background information for the discussion on the future of air defense of the Baltic states. The Baltic states are aware of the limitations of their air defense, and try to develop this capability within available resources. Changes to security environment after 2014 gave new impetus to the development of air defense of the Baltic states, both for the efforts undertaken by NATO and for national capability development.