Has it started? NATO aircraft intercept Russian An-12s

The interception took place as part of a NATO air policing mission, the Allied Air Command said, according to the Ukrainian military portal Militarnyi.

The Portuguese aircraft participating in the mission are based at Ämari Air Base in Estonia. It is reported that since April 1, the Portuguese contingent has scrambled its jets six times.

Frequent incidents over the Baltic

This is just the latest in a series of incidents.

At the beginning of May, NATO fighter jets assigned to the Baltic air policing mission were scrambled three times to identify and track Russian aircraft that were flying in violation of international regulations.

On May 1, French Air Force “Rafale” fighter jets intercepted two Russian Su-24M aircraft that were flying toward and from Russia’s Kaliningrad region.

The Russian aircraft were reportedly flying with their transponders switched off, without a submitted flight plan, and without radio communication with regional air traffic control.

A similar incident occurred at the end of April, when Swedish and Danish fighter jets intercepted Russian Tupolev Tu-22M3 bombers escorted by Sukhoi Su-35S aircraft over the Baltic Sea.

Meanwhile, Slovakia has announced plans to deploy its F-16 Fighting Falcon fighter jets to NATO’s air policing mission over Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia by the end of 2027. Those Baltic states have long warned that they could become potential targets of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

All three Baltic countries have already begun preparations for such a scenario.