NATO fighters again intercepted Russian aircraft near Estonia
Russian planes were intercepted in the immediate vicinity of Estonian airspace.
British and German fighter jets intercepted Russian aircraft flying near Estonian airspace.
This was reported in the press service of the Royal Air Force of Great Britain (RAF).
It is noted that NATO fighters intercepted off the coast of Estonia for the second time this week.
On March 17, a pair of NATO aircraft flew to intercept a Russian Tu-134 military passenger aircraft, known as the Krusty, escorted by two Su-27 Flanker fighters and an An-12 Kub military transport aircraft.
Russian planes were intercepted in the immediate vicinity of Estonian airspace.
The RAF clarified that their military aviation, together with the German Air Force, conducts joint NATO air patrols, and the interception is a “routine NATO mission for Typhoons and is confirmation that the UK and Germany, along with other NATO allies, are supporting their Estonian ally in this tense time”.
Recall that on March 14, two Typhoon jet aircraft – one British and one German – responded to a Russian aircraft after it failed to contact an Estonian air traffic controller near the airspace of a NATO country.
Such interceptions happened frequently even before Russia invaded Ukraine. NATO aircraft annually made about 400 interceptions of Russian aircraft. But the incident comes as tensions escalate after a Russian jet and a U.S. drone collided over the Black Sea.
