As reported by the Ministry of Defense of Lithuania, during a ceremony held on Friday at the Šiauliai airbase, the Italian contingent took over the leadership of the airspace patrol mission from the French and Romanian contingents. For the Italian Air Force, this is already the eighth participation in the NATO mission to patrol the airspace of the Baltic states. The French contingent that completed the mission consisted of about 110 military personnel, while the Romanian contingent included about 100, including pilots, medical staff, communication specialists, and support unit personnel. The French contingent carried out the mission with four "Rafale" fighter jets, supported by six Romanian "F-16 Fighting Falcon" fighters. Both French and Romanian military forces were involved in intercepting and destroying drones that violated the airspace of the Baltic states: Romanian forces operated in Estonia, while French forces operated in Latvia. In turn, the Turkish contingent took over support for the mission in Estonia on Friday, replacing Portuguese military personnel. The Turkish Air Force will carry out this mission from the Ämari airbase for the first time. Over the next four months, the Turkish contingent will carry out airspace patrol tasks for the Baltic states from the Ämari airbase using five "F-16" fighter jets. NATO countries have been patrolling the airspace of Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia on a rotational basis since March 2004, when the Baltic states joined the alliance. Since 2004, the mission has been carried out from the Šiauliai airbase in Lithuania, and since 2014, it has been additionally supported by the Ämari airbase in Estonia. At the NATO summit in Ankara, it was decided that starting from August 1, the mission will receive the status of an enhanced airspace patrol mission, or air defense mission. The previous airspace patrol mission involved monitoring the air situation and responding to potential violations. The transition to an air defense mission expands its powers and capabilities: if necessary, aerial threats can be neutralized using the entire NATO air defense system.