England-based fighter pilots deployed to Lithuania this week to police the skies on behalf of NATO.

Four F-15s from the 493rd Fighter Squadron at RAF Lakenheath along with 130 airmen took over from the German air force for a three-month rotation in the Baltic States. The U.S. is one of 13 NATO countries committed to the air policing mission in the region, which also includes Latvia and Estonia.

Pilots are running training sorties every day, although "a majority of the mission is just sitting alert," said Capt. George Downs, a project officer from the 493rd.

The fighter jets will provide air defense for the region, once governed by the former Soviet Union.

This is only the second time the U.S. has taken part in the Baltics mission since its inception in 2004, the year the countries joined NATO and the European Union.

"I think the biggest thing we’ll take away is increased solidarity and confidence in our NATO allies and an understanding that we’re all in this together," Downs said.

The U.S. troops are operating out of Lithuania’s Siauliai International Airport near the northern city of Siauliai. Lithuania was the first Soviet republic to declare its independence in 1990 though Russian troops did not withdraw until 1993, according to the CIA World Factbook.