Army chief speaks out over NATO mission involving Portugal

Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces  General José Nunes da Fonseca said today that the NATO mission in the Baltic, which is being joined by a detached national force, is a “sign of the Alliance’s collective determination” to dissuade Russia from aggression. “The Baltic Air Policing mission has a preponderant persuasive sense, a sign of the Alliance’s collective determination to dissuade the Russian Federation from possible aggressions and/ or threats against NATO,” he said at the departure ceremony of the national force, at Air Base No. 5, in Monte Real, municipality of Leiria. Taking place between April 1 and July 31, this mission involves the participation of up to 95 Portuguese Air Force personnel and four F-16M aircraft, which will operate from Lithuania’s Siauliai Air Base, relieving France, which is currently deployed on the mission.