Air Force
Three Russian Planes Intercepted Over The Baltic Sea
Ilustracja: Raytheon / raytheon.com
The fighters involved in the Baltic Air Policing operations intercepted three Russian aeroplanes near the airspace of the Baltic republics. The potential intruders included Su-27 Flanker, accompanied by a reconnaissance Il-20M Coot-A and An-26 Curl. RAF published photographs of the two intruders that were intercepted during a single scramble performed by the British Typhoons involved in the operation.
All of the Russian aeroplanes were operating over the Baltic without prior submission of the flight plans to the air traffic controllers, which was the main cause for the scramble. As it is stressed by the RAF representatives, the decision to check the “suspicious aircraft” was made by the Estonian airspace controllers.
During a single sortie of the Eurofighter Typhoons that are currently stationed at the Amari base, an Il-20M Coot-A reconnaissance aircraft was identified, operating close to the Baltic states. Next, the fighters investigated the second radar signal – An-26 Curl flying from the Kaliningrad Oblast. Both intruders were photographed and the photos were published.
Another incident involved a single example of the Su-27 Flanker fighter which was intercepted by the Norwegian F-16 Falcons that are involved in the current rotation of the Baltic Air Policing operation, together with the British Air Policing component.