Data on interceptions of aircraft completed near the Baltic States' borders on May 22-28, 2023

Republic of Lithuania - Ministry of National Defence

2023-05-29
International cooperation

On May 22-28 fighter aircraft conducting the NATO Air Policing Mission in the Baltic states were scrambled twice to identify and escort aircraft of the Russian Federation flying in violation of flight rules in international airspace over the Baltic Sea.

On May 25 NATO Air Policing fighter aircraft were scrambled to intercept one Tu-134 headed from Kaliningrad to mainland Russia via international airspace. It had no prefilled flight plan, the crew maintained radio communication with the regional air traffic control centre and kept the onboard transponder switched on. The Tu-134 was escorted by two SU-27 which flew out of Kaliningrad into international airspace and then returned. They had no flight plans, there crews were not maintaining radio communication and their onboard transponders were off.

On May 27 NATO Air Policing fighter jets intercepted one AN-26 flying from the mainland of the Russian Federation to Kaliningrad via international airspace. The AN-26 had no pre-filed flight plan, its onboard transponder was off and the crew was not maintaining radio communication.