The Vilkas Aerotactical Detachment intensifies its air policing activities

•  The Spanish Air and Space Force's C.16 Eurofighter aircraft have carried out eight air policing missions since their activation in NATO's eAP-69 operation in early August

The Vilkas Aerotactical Detachment (DAT), which has eight Eurofighter aircraft (C.16 in its military designation) from Wing 11 of the Air and Space Force, has carried out eight air policing missions since the start of its deployment in early August.

Specifically, three were performed last month, for reconnaissance of tracks over the Baltic Sea; and five in September, three of them over traffic in the Baltic Sea, and another two over tracks corresponding to unconfirmed objects.

In all these missions, the crews of the Spanish fighter jets are alerted by the Combined Air Operations Centre in Uedem (CAOC-U) to carry out reconnaissance, identification and, if necessary, neutralisation of aerial objects detected in their area of responsibility.

On 9 September, the first order to take off on an air policing mission, known as A-Scramble, was received. NATO's integrated air and missile defence system had detected unidentified traffic coming from the Kaliningrad region, flying northwards, close to the sovereign airspace of the Baltic republics. The crews identified the aircraft as an Ilyushin IL-76, a Russian-flagged cargo plane.

On the same day, DAT Vilkas aircraft were again activated by CAOC-U to identify unplanned traffic over the Gulf of Finland. The Eurofighters successfully completed the mission, identifying the aircraft as a Tupolev TU-154 personnel transport aircraft. The CAOC-U then ordered reconnaissance of unknown traffic in the same area, which turned out to be a Russian Ilyushin IL-20 surveillance and reconnaissance aircraft.

In addition, on 10 September, DAT Vilkas fighters received the A-Scramble order on two occasions. In the morning, due to an unidentified object with a flight profile similar to that of drones over Lithuanian territory, while at dusk, it was due to an object that entered Latvian airspace. In both cases, contact with the objects was lost before the jet fighters reached the affected area.

Finally, on the afternoon of 13 September, Spanish Eurofighters took off again to investigate a trail originating in Kaliningrad that had no communication with air traffic control services, which the C.16s lately confirmed that it corresponded to a Russian TU-154.

These operations are part of NATO's Enhanced Air Policing (eAP) mission, which is one of the components of Operation Persistent Effort.

This Allied effort is part of the decisions agreed upon at the 2014 NATO summit, with the aim of demonstrating the determination of its members to collectively defend the common and Allied space against any threat.

DAT Vilkas: Spain's contribution to air protection on the eastern flank

DAT Vilkas, which means `wolf´ in Lithuanian, is an air tactical detachment of the Air and Space Force that contributes to enhanced air policing tasks on NATO's eastern flank. This detachment, commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Francisco Holgado del Aguila, is operating between August and November 2025 from the Siauliai air base in northern Lithuania.

It is made up of almost 200 military airmen from up to 15 different units of the Air and Space Force, and has eight Eurofighter aircraft from Wing 11 (Morón de la Frontera, Seville) and one A400M refuelling aircraft from Wing 31 (Zaragoza).