Caslav, Central Bohemia, Sept 29 (CTK) – Five Czech JAS-39 Gripen fighters left the Caslav air base for their third air policing mission over Iceland, for which they will have a new type of missiles, on Thursday, the air base spokesman Tomas Maruscak said.
The first two aircraft took off at around 11:30, the rest shortly before noon. All safely landed at the Keflavik airport later on Thursday, Maruscak said.
The Gripens were to be accompanied by a U.S. Air Force tanker as in-flight refuelling was planned.
However, a stopover was finally preferred, which caused the flights to take six hours instead of three.
“The weather is adverse in the areas where the in-flight refuelling was supposed to take place. There are strong turbulences that endanger the operation’s safety. Based on an agreement with the U.S. tanker’s captain, the flight commander preferred the back-up variant – to abolish the cooperation with the tanker and organise the flights including a stopover at the Lossiemouth airfield in Scotland,” Milan Nikodym, deputy commander of the Czech Air Force’s 211th tactical squadron, said.
The mission mainly includes Czech soldiers who were not a part of the previous missions in Iceland. Most of them reached the Keflavik base on Sunday, also from the Caslav air base.
Along with short-range missiles to destroy air targets, the Gripens will also have middle-range missiles.
Upon their landing in Iceland, the Gripens will undergo the required checks and procedures to prepare them for their first certification flights that will take place under the supervision of NATO’s Combined Air Operations Centre early next week.
The fighters will protect the airspace over Iceland until November 10.
Four aircraft will be deployed directly, while the fifth will serve as a reserve. In all, 66 soldiers from the Czech Republic will join the mission.
This will be the fifth deployment of JAS-39 Gripens for air policing in Iceland.
In 2009-12, the Gripens were on an air policing mission in the Baltics, and in 2014 and 2015, they were sent to Iceland.
Iceland is a NATO founding member, but it does not have its own military and the allies take their turns in policing its airspace. The guarded area includes the island plus a 200 kilometre-wide band around it.
