NATO chief expresses regret over accidental missile incident in Estonian airspace

TALLINN - NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg expressed regret over Tuesday's incident where a Spanish Eurofighter jet accidentally fired an air-to-air type AMRAAM missile in the Estonian airspace.

"NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg spoke to Estonian Prime Minister Juri Ratas on Aug. 8, 2018 about an incident involving an aircraft taking part in NATO's Baltic air policing mission. The secretary general expressed his regret that this incident took place, and offered NATO's full support to the investigation," acting spokesman for the alliance Piers Cazalet said on Wednesday.

"Since 2004, our Baltic air policing mission has kept Baltic airspace secure. NATO is committed to the defense of all allies and we will continue to safeguard the airspace of our allies in the Baltic region," the spokesman said.

On Tuesday a Spanish Eurofighter on NATO Baltic air policing duty accidentally fired an air-to-air missile in Estonian airspace, six kilometers off the ground. No damage has been reported.