Just 15 minutes to launch: Inside the sprint for the front-line NATO fighter pilots on scramble alert

• Business Insider visited an air base in Lithuania where Spain has deployed fighter jets.
• The jets are deployed in support of NATO's air policing mission to protect the Baltic states.
• Spanish pilots have just 15 minutes to scramble their jets when responding to a potential threat.

ŠIAULIAI AIR BASE, Lithuania — The fighter pilots quickly grabbed their gear and stormed out the door of the small command building as alarm bells wailed from a loudspeaker. The countdown had started.

The Spanish pilots and the support crew piled into two vans, which swiftly shuttled them down snow-covered roads to the hangars. The powerful EF-18 jet engines roared to life, and with pre-flight checks complete, the fighters taxiied out onto the runway.

As the planes took off into the frigid January sky, the air base fell silent.

Fighter pilots from the 15th Wing of the Spanish Air Force deployed to NATO's forward edge have just 15 minutes to get airborne once a quick reaction alert mission is activated, usually in response to a nearby aircraft flying without identification or purposefully dodging international regulations.

Fighter jets are frequently sent out on very short notice to intercept Russian military aircraft over the Baltic Sea. NATO’s Air Command recorded more than 500 such rapid-response launches, known as scrambles, across allied airspace last year as part of air policing missions and other operations.

At Šiauliai Air Base in Lithuania, Business Insider observed Spanish fighter jets taking off for what began as a training sortie. Once they were airborne, though, the flight became an "alpha scramble," meaning they were tasked with responding to something suspicious — potentially a real threat.

Lt. Col. Fernando Allen, the commander of the Spanish detachment, could only say that the target was an unidentified aircraft. Recent NATO scrambles have intercepted Russian aircraft, including fighter jets and surveillance planes.

Allen said that he and his fellow airmen are deployed to Lithuania "to make safe skies for partner nations and allies."

Life on alert

NATO launched the Baltic Air Policing mission in 2004 following the accession of Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia into the alliance. Member states take turns deploying fighter jets to Šiauliai and two other bases in the region on a four-month rotational basis.

The mission is to protect the airspace above and around the three Baltic states — often referred to as NATO's front lines — amid anxiety over Russian activities in and near allied skies.

Spain's 15th Wing deployed at the start of December to Šiauliai Air Base, where it is contributing to the air policing mission and the Eastern Sentry operation that NATO launched in September after Russian drones violated Polish airspace.

The Spanish detachment arrived with just over 200 personnel and 11 EF-18M fighters, upgraded versions of the American-made F/A-18 Hornet that only Madrid operates. The jets are armed with air-to-air missiles and equipped for round-the-clock operations, including night flights, with pilots using night-vision goggles.

Alpha scrambles follow a step-by-step procedure. Control centers are monitoring the airspace 24 hours a day, seven days a week. If crews detect an unidentified radar track or an aircraft failing to follow international rules, they relay the information to one of NATO's combined air operations centers.

When commanders decide to launch an alpha scramble, the pilots receive an order to take off and must be airborne within 15 minutes. They normally complete the task well ahead of time.

The scramble alert can come in at any moment, so pilots and support crews are always on standby. Some might be resting or even sleeping, but when the alarm bells ring, airmen are ready to get moving.

"You don't have time to think about what's happening. You only think about getting dressed and running to the airplane," Lt. Jesus Ortín, one of the Spanish EF-18 pilots, told Business Insider during a visit to Šiauliai this week. "We are not waiting for it. We are on alert." There is an expectation that even at rest, they're ready.

Lt. Arturo Guitán, another EF-18 pilot, said his reaction to a scramble order is automatic in his brain, drilled in through extensive preparation before the deployment. "I think it's quite easy to scramble," he said, "because we train every day."

For identification and intercept missions, NATO fighter jets — regularly scrambled in pairs or fours — fly alongside aircraft until they move farther out into international airspace. Intercepts commonly occur over the Baltic Sea, a busy route linking mainland Russia with its heavily militarized Kaliningrad exclave between allied countries Poland and Lithuania.

NATO has said that Russian aircraft often approach or fly near allied airspace without using transponders, having filed an official flight plan, or communicating with air traffic control. However, the culprit behind a scramble alert isn't always Moscow; civilian planes can trigger an alpha scramble as well.

Members of the 15th Wing couldn't disclose exactly how many alpha scrambles they have carried out since their deployment began. Allen, the detachment commander, said there were lots in December, but 2026 started off relatively quiet.

Some weeks may trigger five scrambles, while others may see only two, the 15th Wing said. They appear random, and while intelligence officers are trying to map out any patterns, they've been unable to do so.

'Proud to be here'

The Baltic Air Policing mission, launched in 2004, was later expanded to Estonia's Ämari Air Base in 2014 after Russia's initial invasion of Ukraine and then again to Latvia's Lielvārde Air Base in 2024.

However, the mission has taken on a new sense of urgency since last September, when dozens of Russian drones and even crewed aircraft violated NATO airspace on multiple occasions. Western officials warned at the time that Moscow was testing the alliance and probing its response.

NATO launched Eastern Sentry in September and, in the weeks that followed, surged additional assets — including jets, support aircraft, and air defense systems — to the alliance's Eastern edge, complementing the air policing missions in the Baltics.

The airspace incursions reinforced a concern among NATO officials that the alliance — once solely focused on traditional crewed aircraft — now has to contend with the growing threat of drones and explore cost-effective ways to shoot them down without relying on more expensive jet-fired missiles.

While Spain faces a very different threat picture than the Baltic states, its pilots still train to scramble just like other NATO members. The rotational aspect of the air policing mission ensures that militaries from across the alliance contribute to European security. The 15th Wing will be replaced by Romania and France in March.

"We are proud to be here, and it's an honor to help our allied partner countries," Allen said. "I know we're farther in the east, but we are doing the same mission that we were performing in our own country."