US Air Force F-22 air superiority fighters reinforce NATO presence in Estonia
The United States Air Force deployed F-22 Raptor fifth-generation fighters to Amari Air Base, in Estonia.
12 Raptors were initially deployed to Poland’s Powidz Air Base in April 2023. They belong to the 94th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron housed in Langley Air Force Base (LFI), Virginia.
The Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor, which entered service in 2005, is the world’s first mass-produced fifth-generation fighter jet, as well as the first air superiority fighter to use stealth technology. “It cannot be matched by any known or projected fighter aircraft, making it a highly strategic platform to support NATO Air Shielding,” the USAF commented.
The redeployment of the fifth-generation fighters is taking place in the framework of NATO Allied Air Command’s Air Shielding mission to deter aggression in the Baltic Sea region. The operation was described as an ‘Agile Combat Employment’ deployment. It is unclear how many of the fighters were redeployed to Estonia.