Poland Intercepts Russian Spy Plane over Baltic Sea Again
Poland said the aircraft was on a recurring intelligence mission and did not enter its airspace, marking at least the third reported intercept this year.
- On Monday, Polish fighter jets intercepted a Russian Il-20 reconnaissance aircraft over the Baltic Sea roughly 30 kilometers north of Aeba, Polish Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Defense WBadysBaw Kosiniak-Kamysz said.
- This incident marks at least the third such intercept this year, which Kosiniak-Kamysz described as deliberate provocations intended to test Polish and NATO air defense response times and radar coverage.
- Known by NATO as the 'Coot-A,' the Soviet-designed Il-20 regularly flies over the Baltic Sea to collect electronic and communications intelligence, often operating without a filed flight plan or active transponder.
- Poland has utilized both MiG-29 and F-16 fighters for these Baltic intercepts, though the MiG-29 holds a shrinking quick reaction alert role as the military phases in newer F-16 and FA-50 aircraft.
- Officials confirmed the aircraft did not violate Polish airspace during Monday's mission, though these recurring flights remain a persistent trigger for NATO quick reaction alert sorties along the alliance's eastern flank.
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A new incident has once again raised tensions on the east side of NATO. Polish authorities announced this Monday that fighter fighters have intercepted a Russian reconnaissance aircraft flying over the Baltic Sea without a registered flight plan and without the transponder on. Continue reading
The incident adds to a growing chain of encounters between Russian aircraft and fighters from Poland and other allies. More information: Spanish F-18 NATO fighters, on alert after the third 24 hour intrusion of an unidentified drone in Romania
Russian military aircraft operate regularly in international airspace over the Baltic Sea without transponders and flight plan. This time, the Polish Air Force intercepts an Il-20 near the seaside resort of Leba. According to Warsaw, the Polish airspace is not injured in the incident.
Polish warplanes intercepted a Russian reconnaissance aircraft over the Baltic Sea, approximately 30 kilometres from Poland's coast, in a new incident that enrolls in a series of similar encounters with Russian military aircraft, TVP World reports.
The interception maneuver consisted of visual identification of the aircraft, which operated with its transponder off, a recurrent practice that complicates civilian traffic because it hides information such as the aircraft code, its flight altitude and the planned route
Polish fighter aircraft intercepted a Russian reconnaissance aircraft over the Baltic Sea, approximately 30 kilometres from Poland's coast, which is the most recent incident in a series of similar encounters involving Russian military aircraft, reports TVP World.
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