Caplin is expected to arrive Wednesday, when he will attend an official handover ceremony from the British to the Norwegian military, following which four British F-3 Tornado fighter planes and some 120 British servicemen are to leave Lithuania's Zokniai air base.

Two Norwegian F-16 fighters and some 30 servicemen arrived in Lithuania on Monday, and another two and some 60 soldiers are expected to arrive in the Baltic state on Wednesday.

NATO countries have been taking turns patrolling the air space of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia since March 2004, when the three countries joined the alliance.

Belgium and Denmark were the first NATO countries to send their air forces to Lithuania, followed by the British and the Norwegians, who are to remain in Lithuania until March.

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