Is Baltic Luftwaffe Deployment Under Control?

On Sept. 20, the German news agency DPA reported that for the first time, German Typhoon Eurofighters are patrolling the airspace of the Baltic nations with wartime ammunition loads. Gen. Karl Müllner, Chief of Staff of the Luftwaffe, told the press, “This is not a means for escalation. It is only a means to be able to meet each other at the same level.” Müllner said that it is necessary to “motivate the pilots.”

However, Müllner indirectly admitted that this is an escalation, because he said that until now, German Eurofighters had carried out their missions without being armed, in order to help “de-escalation.” The Luftwaffe is deploying from airbases in two of the Baltic nations, none of whose air forces have their own fighter capabilities.

The Bundestag deputy faction leader of the Linke, Sahra Wagenknecht, attacked the decision, telling DPA: “These are highly dangerous war games, which increase the danger of war for the whole of Europe…Anyone who sends fully armed German Eurofighters to Eastern Europe has apparently lost his mind. The government should immediately stop this insanity.”

Reminder: Gen. Karl Müllner was declared persona non grata on a black list of European officials published by the Russian government last June.

Müllner is known for his push to transform the Bundeswehr into a high-tech military for global war, with drone capability playing a central role.