As part of the air policing operations that have been underway since the beginning of August, C16 Eurofighter jets of the Spanish Air and Space Force intercepted a signals intelligence aircraft over the Baltic Sea, belonging to the Russian Aerospace Forces. The aircraft in question was an Ilyushin IL-20 surveillance and reconnaissance platform, intercepted on September 9.
The situation began when NATO detected an unidentified track over the Baltic, prompting the Spanish fighters to scramble. Once deployed to the area, the aircraft was identified as a Russian Ilyushin IL-20.
It is worth noting that the IL-20 is an intelligence aircraft specialized in gathering electronic and communications signals. Originally developed during the Cold War, it remains in operational service with the Russian Aerospace Forces. This model was designed to collect, analyze, and transmit electronic signals and imagery intelligence, playing a key role in strategic surveillance missions.
Air operations under mission eAP-69
Spanish Eurofighters have carried out eight air policing missions since the start of NATO’s eAP-69 operation in early August. The aircraft belong to the 11th Wing of the Spanish Air and Space Force, under the Vilkas Air Detachment (DAT), and crews are alerted through the Combined Air Operations Centre in Uedem (CAOC-U) to conduct reconnaissance, identification, and—if necessary—neutralization of airborne objects detected in their area of responsibility.
Of these missions, three were conducted last month for track identification over the Baltic. In parallel, as part of efforts to bolster security in the region, a Spanish Air and Space Force Airbus A400M transport aircraft was deployed to Lithuania in mid-August to support the Eurofighters of Detachment Vilkas. The five remaining missions took place this September: three involved traffic over the Baltic Sea, and two concerned unidentified objects.
On the same day Spanish Eurofighters intercepted the Ilyushin IL-20 (September 9), NATO detected another unidentified track originating from the Kaliningrad region, heading north close to the sovereign airspace of the Baltic republics. Crews identified the aircraft as an Ilyushin IL-76, a Russian-flagged transport plane, leading to the first order for an immediate scramble, known as an A-Scramble, under the air policing mission.
Later that day, CAOC-U notified the aircraft of another track without a flight plan over the Gulf of Finland. Eurofighters were again deployed and successfully concluded the operation, this time identifying a Tupolev TU-154 transport aircraft.
Two additional A-Scramble orders were issued the following day: in the morning, an unidentified object—flying with a profile similar to that of drones—was spotted over Lithuanian territory; at night, another object entered Latvian airspace. In both cases, contact with the objects was lost before the Eurofighters reached the area. However, these were not the last incidents: on September 13, a Russian TU-154 lost communications with air traffic control services, prompting Spanish Eurofighters to scramble again to identify the track.
Recent threats in European airspace
The multiple operations carried out by Spanish fighters are part of NATO’s enhanced Air Policing (eAP) mission, which forms one of the components of Operation Persistent Effort. The overall objective is to demonstrate the determination of member states to defend, collectively, allied and shared airspace against any threat.
The Vilkas Air Detachment plays an essential role, contributing to reinforced air policing tasks on NATO’s eastern flank. This detachment, comprising nearly 200 personnel, will operate from August through November 2025 out of Siauliai Air Base in northern Lithuania. Its assets include 15 different units of the Spanish Air and Space Force, eight Eurofighter jets from the 11th Wing (Seville), and an A400M tanker aircraft from the 31st Wing (Zaragoza).
While these missions strengthen the Alliance’s defensive capabilities, they are a direct response to the multiple incursions and threats detected in European skies. In recent months, there have been several interceptions of Russian aircraft flying without flight plans or with transponders switched off, which triggered NATO’s quick reaction protocols.
Among these, notable cases included the interception of two Russian MiG-29s by Italian Eurofighters over the Baltic, a MiG-31 of the Russian Aerospace Forces in September 2024, and a signals intelligence Il-20M by German Eurofighters deployed in Latvia in October of the same year. These increasingly frequent incidents highlight the strategic importance of the Baltic Sea and the need to maintain a reinforced air presence on NATO’s eastern flank and the Baltic region—not only as a deterrent, but also as a guarantee of collective security in the current regional context.
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