Just moments ago, the Estonian Defence Forces reported that an aircraft of the Russian Armed Forces, identified as a Sukhoi Su-30 fighter, violated national airspace. The news was communicated through a brief statement detailing the activation of the corresponding interception protocols, carried out by combat aircraft of the Italian Air Force (Aeronautica Militare).
In detail, the statement published nearly an hour ago reads: “On the afternoon of Wednesday, March 18, a Russian Su-30 fighter entered Estonian airspace without authorization in the area of Vaindloo Island, remaining in Estonian airspace for approximately one minute.”
It added: “In response to the airspace violation, a unit of the Italian Air Force deployed in Ämari as part of NATO’s Baltic Air Policing mission carried out an identification flight.”
It was also specified that the military aircraft had not filed a flight plan, nor had it established communication with the Baltic country’s air traffic services.
This new episode, officially reported today, March 19, adds to other incidents involving aircraft of the Russian Armed Forces operating in the Baltic region, presumably from the Kaliningrad exclave. Although no further details were provided, the mention of a Su-30 aircraft could suggest that it belonged to the Russian Navy’s Naval Aviation branch, which operates this model of combat aircraft.
Lastly, confirmation of this violation of Estonian airspace inevitably brings to mind the episode recorded in September 2025, when MiG-31 interceptors of the Russian Aerospace Forces carried out a similar act for twelve minutes in Estonian airspace, over the Gulf of Finland.
Developing story.
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