The mission is set to conclude on Jan. 8. Áder met Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite, with whom he watched a demonstration of the air force’s TANGO alert training. Grybauskaite told a press conference after the presentation that the Hungarian air force had done an outstanding job in carrying out its airspace protection mission.

He said Lithuania and Hungary agree on the region’s security challenges, adding that ties between the two countries are friendly. The two presidents discussed preparations for next year’s NATO summit in Warsaw and cooperation in handling Europe’s migrant crisis.

Áder noted that Hungary was one of the first countries to recognise Lithuania as an independent state in 1991, a gesture which Ader said was a way of repaying the support Lithuanian protesters showed Hungary when they rallied beside it during the 1956 revolution.

Defence Minister István Simicskó said the experience the Hungarian air force would gain over the course of the mission would also help fortify the protection of Hungary’s airspace.

The minister said the two Gripen jets that were lost in accidents earlier this year would be replaced by the second half of 2016.

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MTI photo: Koszticsák Szilárd