According to the Bundeswehr, fighter jets from the German and British Air Forces intercepted three Russian reconnaissance planes in international airspace over the Baltic Sea. Accordingly, it was two military machines of the type SU-27 and an IL-20. They flew “again without a transponder signal” and were intercepted by Eurofighters from the two NATO allies, the German Air Force said on Twitter on Wednesday morning.
Since the NATO states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania do not have their own fighter jets, the military alliance has secured the Baltic airspace in north-eastern Europe since 2004. To this end, the allies regularly rotate combat aircraft and personnel to the Baltic Sea countries bordering Russia.
At the beginning of April, after eight months, the Bundeswehr handed over the leadership of the NATO airspace surveillance operation to Great Britain. The German Air Force will continue to support him until the end of the month. At the beginning of May, the mission should be over for her and the relocation should begin.
During joint NATO Air Policing, German and British fighter jets patrol the sky in mixed squads. Since both air forces fly the Eurofighter, operations on the ground and in the air are easier to coordinate. (dpa)
