A French air force fighter deployed to Siauliai AB, Lithuania, as part of NATO’s Baltic air policing mission collided in midair with a Lithuanian light attack aircraft on Tuesday. Despite damage to its stabilizer, the French Mirage 2000-C returned safely to base, said French air force officials. The Lithuanian aircrew was forced to eject from its L-39 and directed the stricken aircraft to an unpopulated area before escaping unscathed, according to a Lithuanian defense ministry statement. Two Mirages were flying routine intercept training with the L-39 at the time. NATO air forces rotate to Lithuania on quick-reaction alert, providing air defense to NATO members Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, which lack defensive means. Deployed from Orange AB, France, the Mirages were due to hand off to Danish air force F-16s on Wednesday.
A provision in the fiscal 2025 defense policy bill will require the Defense Department to include the military occupational specialty of service members who die by suicide in its annual report on suicide deaths, though it remains to be seen how much data the department will actually disclose.