Over the past week, Royal Air Force (RAF) Eurofighter combat aircraft, operating out of Poland, intercepted several flights conducted by Russian Armed Forces signals intelligence aircraft and fighter jets. While such encounters are common between NATO and Russian military forces, the incidents were once again reported by the RAF to showcase its deterrence and response capabilities as part of the ongoing Air Policing missions in Eastern Europe.
Since the end of March, an RAF detachment led by six Eurofighter Typhoon FGR4 jets has been operating out of Malbork Air Base in Poland, carrying out Enhanced Air Policing (eAP) missions under Operation Chessman.
This deployment adds to other contributions made by the Royal Air Force, continuing from 2024 when RAF aircraft conducted similar operations in Romania, operating out of Mihail Kogălniceanu Air Base.
The Eurofighters involved in these latest missions belong to the RAF’s 140 Expeditionary Air Wing (EAW) and are currently deployed to monitor the activities of Russian Federation aircraft transiting to and from Kaliningrad.
These appear to be the most recent incidents recorded during the past week, during which RAF fighters were scrambled on three occasions to intercept unannounced and unscheduled Russian flights.
On April 15, two separate flights triggered Eurofighter deployments, including the interception of an Ilyushin Il-20M signals intelligence (SIGINT) aircraft. Later that same day, a flight by a pair of Sukhoi Su-30SM2 fighter jets was also confirmed.
Finally, on April 17, another Il-20M SIGINT aircraft was intercepted while flying over international airspace in the Baltic Sea.
With no further details provided by the air forces involved, these incidents fall within the broader context of ongoing efforts by both Russia and NATO to test detection and response capabilities across various regions of Europe.
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