The Vilkas tactical air detachment carries out an air policing mission in Lithuania

• This is the seventeenth activation of the detachment since its deployment at the end of last July

 The Vilkas Air Tactical Detachment (DAT), deployed at Šiauliai Air Base (Lithuania), has carried out an A-Scramble air policing mission involving Russian aircraft, which is currently being investigated by NATO.

On 23 October, at around 6 p.m. local time in Lithuania (one hour earlier in mainland Spain), two Eurofighters were ordered to scramble. These aircraft were on a refuelling mission over Kaliningrad, following an east-west flight pattern. At the request of the Lithuanian Air Defence Control Centre, NATO's Combined Air Operations Centre in Uedem (CAOC-U) ordered the take-off of these Spanish aircraft, which positioned themselves near the border to monitor air activity and act as a deterrent in the area until their return to Šiauliai Air Base.

This is the seventeenth activation of the Vilkas Tactical Air Detachment (DAT) since its deployment at the end of July.

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, will operate between August and November 2025 from the Šiauliai air base in northern Lithuania.

In terms of its composition, it is made up of almost 200 military aviators 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). During these almost three months of activation, the Detachment has carried out, in addition to its air policing tasks, others in the field of institutional representation. Among others, visits have been received from the Ministers of Defence of Spain and Lithuania, the Spanish Ambassador to Lithuania, the Canadian Ambassador to Lithuania and the Brigadier General Commander of NAEW (NATO Airborne Early Warning) in Germany. It also collaborates with the municipality of Šiauliai, from which the detachment's airmen receive constant support.