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Czech Air Force conduct NATO mission over Iceland

Xinhua, August 8, 2015 Adjust font size:

Four Czech Air Force JAS-39 Gripen aircraft are currently conducting air patrols and training in the skies above Iceland under the Alliance's air surveillance mission for the Nordic NATO Ally, NATO said in a press release Friday.

The fighter jets and 70 personnel conducted the mission at the end of July until Aug. 29 to provide airborne surveillance and interception capabilities to meet Iceland's peacetime preparedness needs.

As Iceland does not have its own national air force, NATO provides a periodic peacetime presence of Allied fighter aircraft based at Keflavik in southwest Iceland.

This is the fourth deployment of Czech Gripen fighters to defend NATO nations' airspace. In 2009 and 2012, Czech Gripens provided air policing over the Baltic States, and in 2014 they operated over Iceland for the first time. Endit