Another Russian Aircraft over the Baltic Sea: Polish Fighters Scrambled

A Russian reconnaissance aircraft flew over the Baltic Sea without a flight plan or transponder, prompting the Polish Armed Forces to scramble a pair of duty fighters.

Russian Reconnaissance Aircraft Intercepted

“Before noon, 60 kilometers northwest of Łeba over the Baltic Sea, our duty pair of aircraft intercepted a Russian Il-20 reconnaissance aircraft. There was no violation of our airspace,” wrote Kosiniak-Kamysz on platform X.

He added that the Russian machine was flying in international airspace without a flight plan and with its transponder turned off. “The Polish Armed Forces constantly monitor our security in the region and take actions to protect the Polish border,” emphasized the head of the Ministry of National Defense.

Repeated Incidents Over the Baltic Sea

This is not the first such event in recent times. Last Friday (July 31), a pair of F-16 duty fighters successfully intercepted a Russian Il-20, 40 kilometers north of Kołobrzeg. Even earlier, in mid-life, Russian aircraft were intercepted over the Baltic Sea for three days in a row.

Incidents of this type have been occurring with varying regularity for a long time, especially after the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Among the aircraft intercepted in the Ustka and Jastrzębia Góra region were Il-20 reconnaissance aircraft and Su-30 combat fighters from the base in Kaliningrad.

Russian reconnaissance aircraft, and recently also combat aircraft, regularly fly over the Baltic Sea with their transponders turned off and without filed flight plans, which makes their remote identification impossible and hinders the work of air traffic control authorities.

Nature and Purpose of Aircraft Interceptions

The interception of a foreign aircraft over international waters consists primarily of its identification by fighter pilots using optoelectronic systems and visual contact, and possibly establishing communication with it and escorting it outside the area of responsibility of Polish aviation. For this purpose, pilots can perform a number of maneuvers—approaching the foreign aircraft, showing its weapons, or releasing flares.

The interception of an unidentified aircraft near the Polish borders is a standard procedure in a situation where there is no contact with it. Experts pointed out that flights over the Baltic Sea without flight plans and turned-on transponders have become a standard practice for Russians in recent years. By flying in this way near the border of NATO countries, they test their reaction and air defense systems, among other things. Such flights by Russians can also cause disruptions in civil air traffic in the region.

The NATO Baltic Air Policing mission serves to control the activity of Russian aviation in the region, within which Polish and allied aircraft patrol the airspace over the Baltic states and the Baltic Sea itself. In addition, international airspace at sea is monitored by the armed forces of countries in the region—Poland, Sweden, Denmark, and Germany.