NATO fighter jets, including French Rafale aircraft, intercepted and shadowed Russian strategic bombers and fighter jets over the Baltic Sea.
Operative Information Center-OMM reports, citing Deutsche Welle, that the mission took place on April 20 and involved a coordinated effort between France, Sweden, Finland, Poland, Denmark, and Romania to monitor Russian military activity in the region.
The Russian formation included two Tu-22M3 strategic bombers supported by Su-30 and Su-35 fighter jets. Journalists from the Associated Press witnessed French aircraft taking off from the Siauliai airbase in Lithuania to conduct the intercept. While the Russian Ministry of Defense maintained that the flight was a pre-planned mission over neutral waters in compliance with international law, the Lithuanian Ministry of Defense reported multiple protocol violations. Between April 13 and 19, NATO pilots were scrambled four times due to Russian aircraft flying without transponders, flight plans, or communication with air traffic controllers.
The Baltic Air Policing mission is a vital component of NATO's collective defense, established in 2004 to protect the airspace of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, which do not possess their own interceptor aircraft. Since the escalation of regional tensions, NATO has increased its presence in the Baltic Sea area, with member states rotating personnel and aircraft to ensure the integrity of allied borders. These encounters have become more frequent as both NATO and Russia conduct regular exercises and surveillance missions in the strategically significant Baltic corridor.
