Berlin, 14 March 2023 (dpa/MIA) - German fighter jets stationed on NATO's eastern flank have been deployed 27 times since last August after being alerted to unknown aircraft in the Baltic region, according to the German air force, or Luftwaffe.

During the deployments, the German forces identified Russian military aircraft above the Baltic Sea, a spokesperson told dpa in Berlin.

The German Luftwaffe's Eurofighter Typhoons are alerted when unknown aircraft approach the Baltic airspace without a transponder signal or radio contact.

More than 150 German soldiers have been stationed in Estonia since August last year to protect the airspace on NATO's eastern flank, after taking over the NATO air policing mission over the region from France.

German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier is scheduled to visit the Ämari air base on Wednesday.

British and German forces have been conducting joint armed protection flights over the Baltic states as well as the international airspace over the Baltic Sea as part of a NATO mission dubbed Quick Reaction Alert since March 6.

The three Baltic republics and NATO members Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania lack their own air forces. NATO makes use of bases at Ämari and Siauliai in Lithuania to police the airspace over the Baltic region.

NATO allies station the planes along with support staff at the bases in rotation. Germany has participated in the mission since 2005.

Photo: dpa