Two Russian military aircraft intercepted by RAF Typhoons over the Baltic Sea
The Russian planes had approached Baltic airspace without sharing a flight plan
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Two Russian military aircraft flying over the Baltic Sea without sharing a flight plan have been intercepted and shadowed by RAF Tycoons.
The Typhoons were scrambled yesterday from the Amari Air base in Estonia after the Russian aircraft approached Baltic airspace.
One of the Russian planes was identified as an Il-20M “Coot,” a surveillance aircraft, while the other was described as an An-26 “Curl” transport plane flying north from Kaliningrad.
Flight Lieutenant Paul Griffin said the Typhoons had been given the “nod” and “the Estonian controllers hit the scramble button”.
“The Estonian controllers picked up the aircraft on their radar picture and evaluated whether it had a flight plan and its heading, height and speed. Once it was clear it was an unknown they gave it an appropriate identification colour which made it stand out on our radar scopes,” he said.
Defence Secretary Michael Fallon said the interception of the Russian military aircraft by the UK’s RAF jets “underlines out commitment to Nato and the security of the Baltic region”.
“RAF air and ground grew are doing vital work to defend the skies above and around the Baltic States and I look forward to seeing that work first hand in the near future,” he said.
Four Typhoons were deployed to Amari last month to work with Norwegian aircraft, to patrol Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania. Fallon will be visiting the Baltic Air Policing detachment later this month.
Additional reporting by PA
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments