According to a statement by the German Air Force, German Eurofighter jets intercepted four Russian Il-20 Coot electronic intelligence aircraft over the Baltic States last week.
The Bundeswehr confirmed that the German fighter planes intercepted the Russian surveillance Planealong on the Estonian-Russian border on December 5.
“NATO’s Baltic air police mission chased a Russian IL-20 coot in international airspace north of Estonia that was flying from Russia to Kaliningrad and was not sending a transponder signal,” the Air Force said in a statement.
The Air Force has protected the airspace of the Baltic states of Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia for the past two months as part of a rotating mission by NATO members.
The Baltic Air Policing mission was established in 2004 to support Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, which do not have their own air defense capabilities in the air. It was extended indefinitely in February 2012. The aim of the mission is to prevent unauthorized entry into US airspace. The Baltic States and their most common task is to intercept Russian aircraft and escort them out of the area. To the west of the airspace of the Baltic States is an air corridor that is often used by aircraft flying from territorial Russia to the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad.
The alarm riot of K EinsKtgt to reinforce @NATO #VAPB belongs to a 🇷🇺 military aircraft of the type IL-20 COOT A in international airspace, which flew from the heartland towards Kaliningrad and did not emit a transponder signal. pic.twitter.com/QPo1SyYODb
– Team_Luftwaffe (@Team_Luftwaffe) December 7, 2020
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