Fighter jets from Sweden and Germany were scrambled on Sunday to intercept a Russian surveillance plane flying without prior notification over the Baltic Sea.
“Today, (Swedish) JAS 39 Gripens and (German) Eurofighters were scrambled over the South Baltic Sea, identifying and monitoring a Russian IL-20 reconnaissance aircraft in international airspace,” the Swedish air force said on its X account Sunday.
The German Luftwaffe stated that its jets first trailed the Russian aircraft before passing the monitoring duties to fighter jets from NATO ally Sweden, after which they returned to the Rostock-Laage airfield in northern Germany.
The monitoring of IL-20 reconnaissance aircraft ended without any incident and came amid heightened alert due to Russian activities in NATO’s eastern flank. Tension between the NATO and Russia has been growing as a number of member countries have been reporting Russia’s deliberate incursion into their airspace. On Friday, three Russian fighter jets breached Estonia’s airspace and stayed there for 12 minutes, Tallin said. Estonian foreign minister, Margus Tsahkna condemned Russia’s “brazen” behaviour, stressing that “this behaviour requires an international response.”
The airspace violation came just days after the alliance downed several Russian drones over Poland, raising fears that the war in Ukraine could spill over to neighbouring countries. Estonia on Sunday called for an emergency UN Security Council meeting, marking the first such case in the country’s 34 years of membership of the organization. Estonia also requested consultation under NATO’s Article 4, which enables members to meet with allies if their security is under threat.
Russia’s frequent violation of NATO’s airspace have raised fears that the Kremlin is testing the alliance’s readiness. Asked about Washington’s willingness to defend NATO in case of a possible confrontation with Russia, US President Donald Trump said on Sunday: “Yes, I would.”
