Birds of prey help Nato police Baltic airspace amid tensions
ANCIENT ART OF FALCONRY VASTLY OUTPERFORMS MAN-MADE ACOUSTIC, VISUAL TACTICS
ANato mission policing Baltic airspace amid heightened tensions with Russia has forged a rather exotic alliance to ensure the safety of pilots and their jets.
Four birds of prey — three falcons and an eagle — soar over the tarmac near four massive hangars at the Zokniai air force base in northwest Lithuania.
The winged warriors flew in from Poland along with their trainer to keep runways clear of other birds and wildlife, so as to avert potentially disastrous collisions on take-off and landing.
Experience shows that predatory birds and the ancient art of falconry vastly outperform manmade acoustic and visual scare tactics, which wild birds quickly realise pose no credible threat.
“All artificial methods work only for a short time because birds get used to them, but they’re always mindful of predators,” Mariusz Chroscinski, a soft-spoken Polish falconer said.
The Polish air force brought the 26-year-old to Zokniai to help out with its four-month rotation in Nato’s Baltic air policing mission.
Nato has been guarding Baltic skies since 2004, when Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania joined the defence alliance but lacked the air power to monitor their own airspace.
Under Moscow’s thumb until 1991, the three small states have been on high alert since Russia annexed the Crimean peninsula from Ukraine last year.
Nato jets have been scrambled dozens of times from Zokniai in recent months to escort Russian fighters and nuclear-capable bombers flying near the Baltic states with their transponders switched off, sparking protests over the danger they posed to civil aviation.
Chroscinski sends his birds of prey flying above the airbase and walks up and down the runways with a hunting dog to ensure wild birds keep their distance as jets prepare for take-off.
“Even the smallest of birds can be swallowed up by a jet engine and completely destroy an aircraft. These engines are very expensive, not to mention the danger posed to pilots,” Polish air force Captain Janusz Szczypior, who is currently deployed to Zokniai, said.
Jets took off from the airstrip a total of 150 times last year, often to monitor Russian warplanes.
The winged predators provide maximum safety at minimal cost. One falcon is worth up to €1,000 euros (Dh4,000) and eats the equivalent of its weight in meat each day. That compares favourably with the cost of jet fuel when fighters can burn up to 15 litres per second.