LONDON: A Russian aircraft has been intercepted by British RAF and German fighter jets after it was identified near NATO airspace on Wednesday, according to officials from Ministry of Defense calling it a routine NATO mission.
Two Typhoon jets, 1 German, and 1 British, reacted to the Russian aircraft after it failed to communicate with Estonian air traffic control close to the NATO nation’s airspace.
Confirming the incident, a Typhoon pilot from the RAF’s Bomber Squadron, who was not named by the Ministry of Defence, said: “As a fighter pilot this was a routine flying, even though I was flying alongside a German pilot.”
The pilot said they had monitored and identified the Russian jet as it “came close to the NATO airspace“.
As it hadn’t communicated with the air traffic control system, they intercepted it to make sure they knew “who they [were] and [to] maintain flight safety for all airspace users”.
British RAF and German Air Force Joint Routine Patrol
It was the first time German and British air forces have a joint patrol of the airspace in Estonia, which shares a border with Russia and is also a part of NATO.
The joint petrol follows tensions between the military alliance and Moscow as Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine continues.
Armed forces minister James Heappey stated: “NATO continues to form the bedrock of our collective security.
“This joint German and UK deployment in the Baltics clearly demonstrates our collective resolve to challenge any potential threat to NATO’s borders, whilst demonstrating our combined strength.”
This interception occurred after a Russian fighter jet collided with a US drone, fomenting a diplomatic row between the two countries.
US forces accused the jet of crashing into its drone recklessly, causing it to crash into the Black Sea.
However, Russia denied involvement, with a senior official describing the episode as a “provocation”.
The incident has demonstrated the rising risk of a direct confrontation between the two superpowers because of the Ukraine war.
