SCRAM

42 | AIR & SPACE airspacemag.com


NATO’s Baltic Air Policing mission
calls on an age-old combination of
quick reaction and hot jets.
BLE!
BY JOHN FLEISCHMAN
BARTOSZ BERA
THE SKY OVER LITHUANIA was pale blue, the
forest surrounding the air field deep green, and
the armed Spanish air force Eurofighter Typhoon
light gray. When the jet reached the end of the
runway, it turned and paused, its insect-sharp
nose and stubby canards dipping slightly.
Suddenlyitstwoengines,afterburnerslit,kicked
itintotheair.Awingmanfollowedsecondslater,
and the two Spanish fighters quickly faded into
distantdots,headednorth.WhatIhadwitnessed
thatsummerdayin2017—beginningonlyeight
minutesearlierwhenaKlaxonalertflushedtwo
pilots from the ready room—is a standing ritual
in air forces around the world. When deployed
to the Baltics, responsible for guarding NATO’s
eastern flank, each scramble needs to be perfect.
In NATO military parlance, it’s a Quick
Reaction Alert, or QRA. The U.S. Department of
DefenseprefersAirspaceControlAlert(ACA),but
informallyalmosteveryonecallsita“scramble.”
The Spanish Eurofighters that afternoon
were on a training mission, a “T-scramble.” A
real-worldinterceptioniscalledan“alpha-scram-
ble.” By any name, QRA means armed fighters
and crews standing ready 24/7 to launch within
Hot jets, cool reception: In Lithuania, NATO
fighters like Poland’s MiG-29s (here during a
2015 rotation) spring into action if intruders
fly near.
FEBRUARY/MARCH 2019 AIR & SPACE | 43