NATO fighters scrambled to intercept two Russian
military aircraft near allied airspace over the Baltic Sea during a single
back-to-back sortie from Ämari AB, Estonia, earlier this week, Royal Air Force
officials announced. Estonian controllers detected a lone Russian Il-20M "Coot
A" electronic intelligence aircraft flying without a flight plan tracking
along allied airspace on June 8, according to the RAF
release.
Two RAF Eurofighter Typhoons, deployed to Estonia as part of NATO's Baltic Air
Policing mission, scrambled to intercept and identify the aircraft. Shortly
after the intercept, controllers re-directed the fighters to identify a second
aircraft heading toward Lithuanian airspace from Kaliningrad, identifying it as
a Russian An-26 transport, according to the release. "This is the fourth
intercept tasking we have had," said detachment boss RAF Wing Commander
Stu Smiley. RAF Typhoons and Royal Norwegian Air Force F-16s rotated to Ämari on
May 1, and will provide allied air cover for the Baltic States through August,
according to a second
release.
