Air Surveillance Wing (Estonia)

Air Surveillance Wing
Õhuseiredivisjon
Active	1 January 1998−Present
Country	Estonia
Branch	Air Force
Role	Surveillance
Website	http://www.mil.ee/en/air_force
Air Surveillance Wing Commander	Ivar Sammal
Aircraft flown
Reconnaissance	2 Aero L-39 Albatross

The Air Surveillance Wing (Estonian: Õhuseiredivisjon (ÕSD)) is one of the three wings of the Estonian Air Force, and specializes in air surveillance.^[1]

Structure

The Air Surveillance Wing is made up of three groups: the Engineering and Technical Group, which controls Estonia's five land based radars, the Ämari Command and Reporting Centre, which runs the day-to-day air policing, and the Combined Command Reporting Centre, centred in Lithuania, which controls the Baltic Air Surveillance Network, along with Lithuania and Latvia.^[1]

Service history

The Air Surveillance Wing was founded on 1 January 1998, and based at Ämari Air Base, in Ämari, Estonia.^[1] The Air Surveillance Wing has worked alongside the US Air Force and Danish Air Force on Air Policing in Iceland.^[1] From 8 to 29 March 2010, the Air Surveillance Wing provided two ground-based intercept controllers to assist four Danish F-16 Fighting Falcons during their Air Policing Patrol.^[2]

Inventory

Currently the Air Surveillance Wing has 2 Aero L-39 Albatross.^[3]

References

1. Kaitsevägi, Eesti. "Air Force - Kaitsevägi". www.mil.ee. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 15 March 2017.
2. "Estonia to patrol Iceland airspace". www.baltictimes.com. Retrieved 15 March 2017.
3. "ANALYSIS: Baltic air policing mission in Estonia to continue through 2015". Flightglobal.com. 23 December 2014. Retrieved 15 March 2017.