UK and German fighter jets intercept Russian planes over Baltic Sea

Russian planes believed to have been on a reconnaissance mission
The Three Russian planes intercepted over the Baltic Sea
ES Composite

British and German fighter jets have intercepted three Russian military aircraft flying without transponder signals in international airspace over the Baltic Sea, defence sources said on Wednesday.

The UK Typhoon and German planes were deployed to identify the two Sukhoi Su-27 fighter aircraft and one Ilyushin Il-20 aircraft.

Germany's Luftwaffe air force posted several images of the Russian aircraft mid-flight.

The Russian planes are believed to have been carrying out a reconnaissance mission.

Russian military aircraft regularly fly from mainland Russia to Kaliningrad and back, meaning that such encounters are fairly routine in the region.

Germany handed over responsibility for Nato’s Baltic air policing mission to Britain earlier this month.

Nato allies pitch in to protect the air space there because Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia do not have their own fighter jets.

In March, RAF and German fighter jets intercepted a Russian plane near Estonian airspace in the first joint operation of its type.

Two UK Typhoons were scrambled, alongside the German air force, to intercept an Il-78 Midas refuelling plane flying between St Petersburg and Kaliningrad.

The Russian aircraft had failed to communicate with air traffic control in Estonia.

The Anglo-German interception was the first time such an operation has been carried out together by the two countries.

The airborne interventions come as the West is pitted against Vladimir Putin’s regime following its invasion of Ukraine.

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