TALLINN. April 4 (Interfax) - Two Danish fighter jets landed at an Estonian air base on Thursday as part of a navigational and familiarization mission, the Estonian general staff said.
The main task of the pilots of the two F-16s, the first Danish warplanes to have visited Estonia, was to examine the Amari base, the general staff's press service told Interfax. The pilots made a detailed inspection of the base and were due to return to their own base, Fighter Wing Skrydstrup, later on Thursday.
"The Estonian air base meets NATO standards for military airfields, and civilian aviation standards as well," said Amari commander Lt. Col. Rauno Sirk. "Whereas until recently NATO flights to Amari were exceptional, now they are regular practice."
On Tuesday, Amari welcomed a Polish EADS CASA C-295 transport aircraft whose crew also examined the base, Sirk said.
At a meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Brussels on Tuesday, Estonia's Urmas Paet said his country was offering to make Amari available to the North Atlantic alliance in connection with the recent developments in Ukraine. Amari would then be NATO's second air base in the Baltic region besides the one in Siauliai, Lithuania.