German jets scramble to escort Russian reconnaissance aircraft
The German Air Force has scrambled its jets from two bases to escort a Russian reconnaissance aircraft over the Baltic Sea.
The aircraft were scrambled from the Laage (Germany) and Lielvārde (Latvia) air bases.
"Our Eurofighter jets were scrambled from Laage and Lielvārde to jointly identify and escort a Russian Il-20M that had no flight plan and no transponder," German Air Force reported on X (Twitter).
Heute steigt unsere QRA gleich zweimal auf.🛫
Unsere Eurofighter wurden sowohl aus Laage, als auch aus Lielvarde alarmiert, um gemeinsam eine 🇷🇺 Iljuschin Il-20M ohne Flugplan und Transponder zu identifizieren und zu eskortieren.#SecuringTheSkies #WeAreNato pic.twitter.com/0dVlXr175o– Team Luftwaffe (@Team_Luftwaffe) November 11, 2024
NATO countries have been conducting airspace patrols over Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia on a rotational basis since March 2004, when the Baltic states joined the alliance. Patrols have been conducted from the Šiauliai airbase in Lithuania since 2004, and a support role has also been carried out from the Ämari airbase in Estonia since 2014. Support operations have been based in Latvia’s Lielvārde since March 2024 while repairs are being conducted at the Ämari airbase.
From 21 to 27 October, NATO fighter jets conducting airspace patrols in the Baltic states were scrambled six times to identify and escort Russian aircraft that violated air traffic regulations.
On 16 October, Germany scrambled its fighter jets due to the presence of a Russian Il-20 aircraft.
A total of 109 incidents of Russian military aircraft approaching the external border of Latvia's territorial waters have been recorded over the Baltic Sea in 2024.