German fighter jet intercepts Russians in Baltic airspace
DDP/The Local - [email protected]
Published: 3 Nov, 2009 CET.
Updated: Tue 3 Nov 2009 08:47 CET
A German Luftwaffe fighter jet recently intercepted a Russian military aircraft threatening the airspace of NATO's Baltic members, the Rheinische Post daily reported on Tuesday.
The Bundeswehr confirmed to the paper that the incident, involving a German Eurofighter and a Russian radar plane along the Estonian-Russian border, occurred on September 15.
After the German jet challenged the radar plane, the Russians scrambled two fighters, which approached at supersonic speed. Finnish jets then escorted the Russians back to international airspace, averting a further escalation of the situation.
The Luftwaffe has protected the airspace of the Baltic nations Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia for the past two months as part of a rotating deployment by NATO members.
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The Bundeswehr confirmed to the paper that the incident, involving a German Eurofighter and a Russian radar plane along the Estonian-Russian border, occurred on September 15.
After the German jet challenged the radar plane, the Russians scrambled two fighters, which approached at supersonic speed. Finnish jets then escorted the Russians back to international airspace, averting a further escalation of the situation.
The Luftwaffe has protected the airspace of the Baltic nations Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia for the past two months as part of a rotating deployment by NATO members.
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