German Air Force completes deployment in Latvia over election period

The German Air Force has ended its short deployment to Latvia, where it was protecting the Baltic country's airspace during the parliamentary election, a Luftwaffe spokesman told dpa on Tuesday. 

The four Eurofighters belonging to Tactical Air Wing 74 have returned to their home base in Neuburg an der Donau. The spokesman said the mission had been conducted "without any incidents."

Latvia, a member of the European Union and NATO, held parliamentary elections on October 3. The government requested support for the secure conduct of the vote against the backdrop of repeated recent violations of Baltic airspace. 

Germany's Luftwaffe subsequently deployed four Eurofighters and around 40 soldiers to Latvia.

Latvian Defence Minister Raivis Melnis thanked Germany for its contribution to strengthening the defence of Latvian airspace. He said the deployment of the Eurofighters demonstrated NATO's ability to rapidly reinforce the protection of its allies when needed.

Latvia borders Russia and Belarus to its east. Since the outbreak of the war in Ukraine, there have been several drone incidents in the Baltic state. In two cases, drones were shot down by NATO fighter jets over Latvia.