In this operation, London mobilized Typhoon-class fighter jets, while Sweden deployed Gripen-class aircraft, which were deployed for NATO air surveillance missions in the Baltic region.
According to the British Royal Air Force, the Russian aircraft – an IL20 spy plane and a Su-27 fighter – did not meet international standards and did not communicate with relevant authorities.
“However, they remained in international airspace and flew in a professional manner,” the UK Air Force said, describing it as a “routine interception”.
The Russian Defense Ministry has repeatedly stated that flights by Russian military aircraft are carried out strictly in accordance with international regulations on the use of airspace, the official Russian news agency TASS reported.
In late May, Japan’s General Staff ordered the deployment of fighter jets, one over the Pacific Ocean and the other over the Sea of Japan, after two Russian spy planes were detected.
Two days earlier, Russia said it deployed fighter jets to intercept two US bombers in the Baltic Sea, which Moscow said were approaching the Russian border.
Even before the start of the conflict in Ukraine, incidents involving Russian aircraft and aircraft from NATO countries have multiplied in recent years.
In mid-May, a similar incident in the Baltic Sea involved a Russian fighter jet and two French and German military aircraft.
In early May, it was a Polish border guard plane operating in the Black Sea on behalf of Frontex, the European external border agency, which, according to Warsaw, was endangered by the approach of a Russian fighter.
A month ago, Russian warplanes intercepted a US Reaper MQ-9 drone in the Black Sea, causing it to fall into the water after its maneuvers, momentarily raising tensions between Washington and Moscow.
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