NATO fighters conducting an air policing mission in the Baltic states scrambled four times last week to identify and escort Russian aircraft, the Lithuanian Ministry of Defense reported on Monday.
On February 23, NATO fighters were dispatched to identify the tactical reconnaissance aircraft Su-24MR and the fighter Su-33. The latter were flying with their radar transponders turned off, without flight plans, and did not maintain radio communication with the Regional Flight Control Center (RFCC).
On February 25, a flight was made to identify the Su-24MR and Su-33 aircraft, which also flew with their radar transponders turned off, without flight plans, and did not maintain radio communication with the RFCC.
On the same day, NATO air policing fighters were scrambled to identify two more aircraft – passenger An-148 and Hawker 800 (a small twin-engine corporate jet developed by British Aerospace). These aircraft were flying in international airspace from the main part of Russia to the Kaliningrad region, but with their radar transponders turned on and maintained radio communication with the RFCC.
On February 26, fighters were launched to identify two Su-24M attack aircraft. They were flying with their radar transponders turned off, without flight plans, and did not maintain radio communication with the RFCC.
The NATO air policing mission in the Baltic states is conducted from Lithuania and Estonia.
