February 9 (BTA) - The first Spanish fighter jets for a joint NATO air policing mission in Bulgaria are expected to land at the Graf Ignatievo Air Base (southern Bulgaria) by the end of the week, the Defence Ministry said in a press release here on Wednesday.

On January 24, the Council of Ministers made a decision to allow a joint Bulgarian-Spanish air policing mission in the Bulgarian airspace, the press release says.

The air policing mission is implementing measures to ensure the security of NATO member countries on its Eastern flank and will be conducted according to the plans and procedures of the NATO Integrated Air and Missile Defence System (NATINAMDS).

The Spanish Air Force will relocate 130 troops and four Eurofighter EF-2000 Typhoon II fighter aircraft to Bulgaria. They will perform airspace protection duties alongside the Bulgarian Air Force (BAF) until March 31, 2022.

Bulgarian on-duty crews and Spanish servicepersons will perform different tasks, such as interceptions, reconnaissance, escort, among others. BAF will continue to fulfill its national commitments to NATINAMDS. Bulgaria and Spain will separately cover their own expenses during the air policing mission, the Defence Ministry said.

The participation of BAF in joint air policing missions prove its capabilities to act together with the rest of the Allied forces to ensure the security of NATO member countries on its Eastern flank.

So far, BAF has carried out joint air policing missions with the US Air Force (in 2014 and 2016) and Italian Air Force (2017). Since 2012, BAF has carried out a significant number of cross-border operations together with the Romanian Air Force, the Defence Ministry added.

Source: Sofia