RAF jets in Estonia scrambled 2x to intercept Russian jets

LONDON – Two Royal Air Force jets deployed in Estonia have been scrambled twice in recent days, bringing the number of intercepts of Russian aircraft to eight since taking over the Baltic Air Policing mission in May.

The Typhoon jets were alerted Friday to intercept a Russian SU-30 Flanker fighter, and passed a Russian military transport craft as it was escorting the fighter over the Baltic Sea.

On Saturday, RAF crews intercepted a SU-30 Flanker fighter and an Ilyushin IL-76 Candid transport aircraft traveling north from the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad toward Estonian and Finnish airspace. The RAF escorted the aircraft for 15 minutes before handing over responsibility to Finnish aircraft on the airspace boundary.

The Russian Defense Ministry said over the weekend its Baltic Fleet assets were monitoring NATO military drills in the Baltics.