On Friday, Polish fighter jets intercepted a Russian reconnaissance aircraft flying over the Baltic Sea, the Polish Armed Forces’ operational command announced.
According to the statement posted on X, the Russian Il-20 reconnaissance plane was on its ninth mission this year in international airspace, flying without a filed flight plan and with its transponder switched off. The plane did not violate Polish airspace.
Two Polish MiG-29 fighter jets successfully intercepted, visually identified, and escorted the Russian aircraft flying over the Baltic Sea outside NATO’s assigned area, according to TVP World.
The Baltic Sea borders several NATO members, including Poland and the Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, as well as the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad.
Such interceptions are common, as NATO fighter jets regularly take to the air to identify Russian aircraft operating near alliance borders. Flights without flight plans and with transponders off make long-range identification difficult and complicate civilian air traffic control, the Polish Armed Forces noted.
