The Handover Takeover (HOTO) ceremony for the Enhanced Air Policing 2026 (eAP26) took place on Friday 31 July at Ämari Air Base (BAA) in Estonia, marking the transfer of responsibility for the Baltic Air Policing mission to the Turkish Air Force.
The HOTO ceremony, presided over by the Estonian Minister of Defence, Hanno Pevkur, was attended by the Minister of National Defence (MDN), Nuno Melo, and the Chief of the Air Force Staff, General Sérgio da Costa Pereira, amongst other military and civilian officials.
During his address, the Minister of National Defence spoke to the Portuguese Air Force personnel involved throughout these four months of the mission, emphasising that “they were on the front line of defence, ensuring the safety of the skies for the peoples of Europe, in the service of Portugal, peace and freedom, operating with a high level of readiness and facing real dangers with every interception”. He also highlighted the importance of the Portuguese people taking pride in the Air Force, which has been safeguarding Europe’s skies for almost two decades.
Following the ceremony, the Portuguese delegation visited the F-16M hangars in the afternoon, where they received a brief briefing on the operation and the aircraft. This was the second time that the eAP mission had been conducted from Estonia; our detachment, comprising four F-16M aircraft and up to 95 military personnel, logged over 480 flight hours and was operationally deployed for more than 25 aircraft interception missions.
At the same time, more than 100 training missions were carried out, with the aim of maintaining the detachment’s operational capabilities and strengthening interoperability with allied nations. It was also possible to take part in various NATO exercises from the BAA, notably Ramstein Alloy 26, the Air Defence Exercise and Ramstein Guard, totalling over 180 flight hours across around 10 exercises.
Over the years, the Air Force has maintained a strong commitment to this mission, having already participated in nine deployments. Of these, five were undertaken as Lead Nation – in 2007, 2014, 2016, 2018 and 2023 – and four as Enhanced Nation – in 2021, 2024, 2025 and 2026.
The Air Force’s deployment once again demonstrated the institution’s high standards of excellence and readiness, honouring the Portuguese flag in the best possible way by ensuring the security of allied airspace and carrying out all the missions entrusted to it in an exemplary manner.
