French Rafale fighter jets have been deployed from an airbase in Lithuania. These aircraft are stationed here as part of NATO's decades-long airspace patrol effort.
Participating with French fighter jets equipped with air-to-air missiles were aircraft from Sweden, Finland, Poland, Denmark and Romania.
All took off to inspect and monitor the Russian flight, according to a statement from the French unit.
Meanwhile, Russia's mission includes 2 Tu-22M3 supersonic bombers, as well as about 10 fighter jets (both Su-30 and Su-35) taking turns escorting larger strategic bombers.
The Russian Ministry of Defense said that the flight of long-range bombers was planned and took place in the airspace over the neutral sea of the Baltic Sea. The flight lasted more than 4 hours.
“On some stages of the journey, long-range bombers have been escorted by fighter jets of foreign countries. The crew of long-range aircraft regularly makes flights over the neutral waters of the Arctic, North Atlantic, Pacific, as well as the Baltic Sea and Black Sea. All flights of aircraft belonging to the Russian Aerospace Forces are carried out in strict compliance with international rules on the use of airspace,” the Russian Ministry of Defense emphasized.
Russia regularly reports on strategic bomber flights over the Baltic Sea, including flights in January this year and at least 4 times last year.
NATO regularly deploys fighter jets to intercept Russian fighter jets approaching or flying near the alliance's airspace. NATO said that Russian aircraft that the alliance intercepts usually do not use interceptors and do not contact air traffic controllers or submit flight plans. NATO aircraft are deployed to identify these aircraft.
Many Russian flights that NATO monitors through the Baltic airspace patrol mission, deployed since Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia joined the alliance in 2004, are arriving and departing from Russia's Kaliningrad territory. Before the Ukraine conflict, NATO intercepted Russian aircraft about 300 times per year, mainly in the waters around Northern Europe.
The flight on April 20 was Russia's latest move over the Baltic Sea. The Lithuanian Ministry of Defense said that NATO aircraft were deployed 4 times from April 13 to April 19 to intercept Russian aircraft violating flight regulations, including turning off landing gear and flying without a flight plan.
