In a new incident in the Baltic region, German Air Force (Luftwaffe) Eurofighter jets once again intercepted aircraft of the Russian Armed Forces, specifically a Tu-142MK anti-submarine warfare and patrol aircraft and Su-30SM fighter jets from the Russian Navy’s Naval Aviation. The involvement of these aircraft is significant, as Russia recently launched the large-scale Ocean 2024 exercise across various parts of Europe and the Pacific.
While this incident adds to a long series of encounters between German and Russian fighter jets in the Baltic, where flights without announced flight plans and with transponders turned off prompt NATO’s QRA (Quick Reaction Alert) responses, the context and type of aircraft involved here are notable.
Recently, Russia commenced a series of naval and submarine exercises in Europe and the Pacific. Known as Exercise Ocean 2024, it includes a substantial number of naval, aerial, and surface assets from Russia’s Baltic, Northern, and Pacific Fleets. In the Pacific, Russian military activities also include joint exercises with the People’s Liberation Army Navy of China.
The movement of Russian ships between fleets has triggered NATO’s monitoring and surveillance efforts. For instance, a recent example involved a stealth corvette from the Royal Norwegian Navy shadowing a Ropucha-class landing ship from the Baltic Fleet as it headed towards a rendezvous point in the North Sea.
Returning to the Baltic incident, the interception involved a Tu-142MK anti-submarine warfare aircraft and Su-30SM fighters from Russia’s Naval Aviation.
When it was detected that the aircraft were flying without an announced flight plan and with their transponders turned off, NATO protocols were activated, initiating a QRA mission with German Air Force Eurofighters, which are deployed in the Baltic region as part of NATO Air Policing Missions in support of key NATO allies.
This is not the only recorded incident. In addition to the event reported on September 13 by the German Air Force, Tu-142 aircraft from the Russian Navy have been conducting long-range reconnaissance flights in other regions, such as the Pacific, presumably as part of their participation in Exercise Ocean 2024.
This was confirmed by statements issued by NORAD, which recorded the presence of these aircraft in the Alaska Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ). Similarly, Japan’s Self-Defense Forces reported on September 12 that patrol flights had been conducted over southern Japan, in the Ryūkyū Islands archipelago, through the Tsushima, Miyako, and Sōya straits. According to the released maps, the flights included a circumnavigation of the Japanese archipelago.
You may also like: Once again, a SIGINT Il-20M aircraft from the Russian Aerospace Forces was intercepted by German Eurofighter jets over the Baltic
