Two German Eurofighters and two Swedish Gripen fighters launched an alpha scramble to intercept two Russian Su-30 aircraft heading towards Latvia. This interception was part of the NATO Baltic Air Policing mission.
The Russian jets, reportedly engaged in a military exercise with naval ships in the Baltic Sea, had their transponders switched off and ignored radio communications, a Luftwaffe spokesperson told Bild.
“The pilots of the Sukhoi behaved uncooperatively but not aggressively,” the Luftwaffe reported in a statement on X.
Gemeinsam mit #Nato-Partner #Schweden stiegen heute zwei deutsche #Eurofighter der Nato-Mission #VAPB zu einem Alpha Scramble auf. Zwei russische SU-30 wurde identifiziert. Die Piloten der Su verhielten sich unkooperativ aber nicht aggressiv . #QRA Together we are strong pic.twitter.com/wAukFkelxg
— Team Luftwaffe (@Team_Luftwaffe) August 3, 2024
The lack of a communicated flight plan, standard in the busy Baltic airspace, raised concerns. The situation was closely monitored, with the NATO fighters visually identifying and escorting the aircraft without further incident.