The Swedish and German military intercept a Russian reconnaissance aircraft in Swedish airspace.
The Swedish Air Force said that the offender was a Russian Il-20 aircraft.
An Il-20 reconnaissance aircraft flew into Swedish airspace southeast of the Blekinge area.
To intercept the plane, two German Eurofighter jets were raised, which were on standby at a base near the German city of Laage.
A Russian Il-20 reconnaissance plane was flying overhead, and a NATO plane followed it for some time.
The Il-20 reconnaissance aircraft were developed in the Soviet Union on the basis of the Il-18 passenger aircraft by integrating a radio reconnaissance station and a radar surveillance station located under the fuselage.
It is known that since the 1970s, only 20 such boards have been manufactured, of which only a fraction have been modernized and are still in operation.
According to NATO, the alliance’s air force across Europe is often called upon to intercept Russian military aircraft approaching the alliance’s airspace.
Most of the interceptions took place over the Baltic Sea.
NATO said earlier that it has beefed up its air defense on the eastern flank in response to Russia’s war against Ukraine, increasing the number of fighter jets and reconnaissance flights, as well as expanding its network of ground-based air defenses.
Russian military aircraft “have not transmitted a transponder code” indicating their position and altitude for a long time, nor have they submitted a flight plan or communicated with air traffic controllers, NATO says.
“NATO fighter jets are on round-the-clock alert and ready to take off in the event of suspicious or unannounced flights near our allies’ airspace,” NATO said.
