Fighter jets of the NATO Baltic Air Patrol mission took to the air three times last week to escort Russian military aircraft.
This is reported by the Ministry of Defense of Lithuania.
« May 27 – On June 2, fighter jets performing NATO air patrol functions in the Baltic countries took off three times to detect and escort Russian aircraft that violated the rules of flight in the international airspace over the Baltic Sea, the report says.
According to the data The Ministry of Defense, on May 29, a Russian IL-18 was identified and escorted, which was flying from the Russian mainland through international airspace to the Kaliningrad region. He flew with a submitted flight plan, turned on the radar receiver, maintained radio communication with the regional flight control center (RCUP).
In addition, on June 1, a Russian Su-24 aircraft was escorted, and on June 2, a Su-24 -34. Both also flew from the Russian mainland to the Kaliningrad region, and without submitting a flight plan, without turning on the transponder, and did not maintain radio communication with the RCUP.
Let us remind you that the NATO Baltic Air Patrol mission, which is carried out from bases in Lithuania and Estonia, effective since 2004. This is a rapid response NATO air defense system designed to protect the airspace over Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.