In a new episode recorded in the Baltic, Eurofighter Typhoon jets from the German Air Force (Luftwaffe) intercepted MiG-29KR fighter aircraft of the Russian Navy operating near NATO maritime and airspace while their leaders were meeting in the United States. Germany stated that its Eurofighter Typhoon combat aircraft, on a NATO air patrol mission, were deployed to identify two MiG-29 fighter-bombers off the coast of Latvia.
The Russian jets were “flying in international airspace over the Baltic Sea without a flight plan or contact with civil air traffic control,” the German Air Force noted on Wednesday, July 10. An image published on the social network X shows two MiG-29KRs, which possibly operate in the Northern Fleet garrison in Severomorsk, a closed city in the Murmansk region in northwest Russia.
Regarding the Russian aircraft identified flying without a flight plan, they are a pair of MiG-29KRs employed by the Naval Aviation of the Russian Navy. According to the published photographs and the information appreciated by Open Source Intelligence (OSINT) sources, these two jets (with numerals RF-92311 and RF-92315) belong to the 100th Independent Shipborne Fighter Aviation Regiment based at Severomorsk-3 Air Base, located 28 kilometers east of Murmansk.
This adds to the report by the Netherlands, which mentioned on Monday that three Russian ships were escorted through that country’s exclusive economic waters, which extend 200 nautical miles from the coast. This interception observed the frigate Neustrashimy and an Altay-class tanker, both assigned to the Baltic Fleet of the Russian Navy.
Through his official X account, Vice Admiral René Tas, Commander of the Royal Netherlands Navy, indicated that the encounter occurred during the past weekend. It was also reported that units of the force were involved in the downing of two drones launched by Houthi rebels from Yemen in the Red Sea, along with a frigate from the Greek Navy. Specifically, it involved the multifunction ship HNLMS Karel Doorman and the MEKO 200 HS Psara frigate.
While these movements occur in the context of the NATO leaders’ meeting for the alliance’s 75th anniversary, where they declared Russia “the most significant and direct threat” to their security amid the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, they have been recorded with varying frequency in the Baltic region. Both Russian Armed Forces and NATO naval and air forces often conduct flights in international airspace to determine detection and response capabilities, adding tension to a global context marked by the war in Ukrainian territory.
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