Air Defense of the Baltic States: Looking toward the Future

The article offers a discussion of the origins, current state, and the future of air defence for the Baltic states. It relates developments in the field of air defense to changes in the security environment and the defence policies of the Baltic states. The article starts with a retrospective on the origins and development of air defence in the Baltic states before they joined NATO. Then, it focuses on the early years of integration with NATO Integrated Air Defense System and implications for air defence related to changes in the security of the Euro-Atlantic region stemming from aggressive Russian actions. An assessment of the current posture of air defence in the Baltic states serves as a starting point for a discussion on requirements for future developments and predicting possible outcomes. The research uses unclassified, publicly available documents and analytical reports to provide background information for a discussion on the future of air defense for the Baltic states. The Baltic states are aware of the limitations of their air defense and try to develop this capability within available resources. Changes to security environment after 2014 gave a new impetus to develop the air defense of the Baltic states, both through efforts undertaken by NATO and for national capability development.