German fighter jets intercept Russian reconnaissance aircraft over Baltic Sea
On the morning of June 27, two German Air Force Eurofighter jets intercepted a Russian Il-20M reconnaissance aircraft (NATO reporting name: Coot-A) with registration RF-95979 over the Baltic Sea. According to a report by Bild, the Russian plane departed from Kaliningrad without transmitting a transponder signal, radio communication, or an electronic flight plan, flying westward toward Polish and German airspace.
The NATO radar systems detected the Il-20M at 09:02 AM (10:02 Moscow time).
At 09:16 (10:16 Moscow time), NATO alerted the German Armed Forces' rapid reaction group.
The Eurofighters took off from the Laage Air Base near Rostock in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern at 09:32 (10:32 Moscow time).
The jets reached the target at 09:54 (10:54 AM). In international airspace north of Poland, 100 kilometers off the German coast, pilots visually identified the Russian aircraft and captured its photograph. It then shifted course north, about 40 kilometers from Usedom in the Baltic Sea.
The Eurofighters safely returned to Laage at 11:10 (12:10 Moscow time).
The incident marks the ninth interception of this kind since the beginning of the year.
Military sources told Bild that today’s interception maneuver is already the ninth mission of its kind in 2023.
Russian Il-20M reconnaissance planes frequently depart from Kaliningrad to gather intelligence on NATO's military activities along the Baltic coast, specifically targeting Poland, Germany, Denmark, and Sweden.
These flights are considered part of “Russia’s military intimidation tactics and intelligence-gathering efforts,” Bild reports. No violations of NATO airspace in the southern Baltic Sea region have been recorded so far.
Since mid-December 2024, drones have been repeatedly sighted over Manching and Neuburg an der Donau, where Eurofighters that oversee the airspace of southern Germany are based, reported the Bavarian Criminal Police Office. Together with the Munich Public Prosecutor's Office, which is responsible for combating extremism and terrorism in the region, they are investigating these incidents.