In a new episode involving military forces in the Baltic region, German Air Force (Luftwaffe) Eurofighter jets intercepted two aircraft of the Russian Aerospace Forces, one of which was a signals intelligence (SIGINT) aircraft. The news was announced on June 4th on the force’s social media, which maintains five combat aircraft in Latvia to conduct NATO Air Policing Missions.

In an increasingly tense regional context, various flights in the Baltic Sea region by aircraft from NATO military forces and the Russian Armed Forces aim to test detection and surveillance systems, measuring response times and operational patterns. This is evidenced by the various types of flights conducted by surveillance and patrol aircraft, as well as others with more specific functions, such as those dedicated to signals intelligence missions. For example, in February, the same parties had recorded one of the first incidents of this kind of the year.

Following this, yesterday, German Air Force Eurofighter jets intercepted two aircraft belonging to the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, which had not reported their flight plan and were flying radio silent. The presence of the aircraft was detected by the Combined Air Operations Centre in Uedem, Germany, prompting a rapid response from the German combat aircraft.

Guided by radar systems to the detected contacts, the German aircraft identified two aircraft belonging to the Russian Armed Forces: an Ilyushin Il-20M (Coot-A) and an Antonov An-12 CUB D transport aircraft. The first case is significant as it involves a variant of the Il-18 used for SIGINT missions by the Russian Aerospace Forces, while the second case involves one of the multiple variants of the transport aircraft manufactured by Antonov, presumably conducting a flight between mainland Russia and the Kaliningrad enclave.

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