Last week, NATO fighters on duty in the Baltic states were scrambled twice to identify and escort Russian aircraft that violated flight rules, the Lithuanian Ministry of Defense reported on Monday.
On December 15, NATO air policing fighters identified a reconnaissance aircraft Il-20 (produced from 1968 to 1976, still in operation). It was flying in international airspace from the Kaliningrad region of Russia and back with its transponder turned off, without a flight plan, and did not maintain radio communication with the Regional Flight Control Center (RFCC).
A passenger aircraft Tu-154 (produced from 1968 to 2013) was also identified, flying from the Kaliningrad region to the mainland of Russia. This aircraft had its transponder on, had a flight plan, and maintained radio communication with the RFCC.
On December 19, NATO fighters identified the Il-20 reconnaissance aircraft again, which was flying from the Kaliningrad region to the mainland of Russia with its transponder turned off and without a flight plan, but it maintained radio communication with the RFCC.
The NATO air policing mission in the Baltic states is carried out from bases in Lithuania and Estonia.
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