NATO fighter jets were scrambled three times over Baltic states last week due to Russian aircraft
Russian aircraft have once again prompted the scramble of NATO fighter jets patrolling the airspace over the Baltic states.
According to Censor.NET, this is based on data from the Lithuanian Ministry of Defence.
NATO has scrambled fighter jets on several occasions
Incidents involving Russian aircraft took place between 31 August and 6 September.
On 31 August, NATO fighter jets carried out a flight to identify a Russian Il-20 reconnaissance aircraft. It was flying through international airspace from mainland Russia to the Kaliningrad region.
According to the Lithuanian Ministry of Defence, the Russian aircraft was flying without its transponder switched on and without a flight plan. At the same time, the crew maintained radio contact with the Regional Flight Control Centre.
On 1 September, NATO fighter jets took to the air to identify and intercept an object that had entered Estonian airspace from Russia. The aircraft then patrolled along the Estonian-Russian border.
Another Il-20 from Russia
On 5 September, 12 NATO air patrol fighter jets took to the skies. They carried out a mission to identify a Russian Il-20 aircraft that was en route from Russia to the Kaliningrad region.
As on 31 August, the aircraft was flying without its transponder switched on and without a flight plan. However, it was maintaining radio contact with the Regional Air Traffic Control Centre.
Potential risks
Earlier, Lithuania’s military intelligence stated that it had information suggesting that Russia was considering the use of Ukrainian-made drones to carry out attacks on critical infrastructure in the Baltic region.
The President of Lithuania, Gitanas Nausėda, has stated that intelligence reports suggest Russia may be preparing provocations in Poland or the Baltic states with the aim of testing NATO’s unity.
