British fighter jets scrambled to intercept Russian aircraft

Royal Air Force Typhoons deployed in Poland have been scrambled three times in as many days to intercept Russian aircraft operating close to NATO airspace, the Ministry of Defence has confirmed.

Operating out of Malbork Air Base as part of NATO’s enhanced Air Policing (eAP) mission, RAF Typhoons from No. II (Army Co-operation) Squadron, under 140 Expeditionary Air Wing (EAW), responded to multiple incidents involving aircraft departing Kaliningrad airspace.

On Tuesday 15 April, Typhoons were scrambled twice. The first mission involved the interception of an Ilyushin Il-20M, a surveillance and electronic signals intelligence aircraft known by NATO as the ‘Coot-A’. Later the same day, the fighters were launched again to intercept two Russian SU-30SM2 fighter jets—NATO reporting name ‘Flanker-H’—which had also departed Kaliningrad without communicating with air traffic controllers.

The sorties continued into Thursday 17 April, when RAF jets were scrambled a third time to intercept another Ilyushin Il-20M approaching NATO airspace over the Baltic Sea.

An Expeditionary Air Wing spokesperson said: “Today was the third time in three days that NATO have scrambled RAF assets at Malbork. Today’s mission was to intercept and identify the unknown aircraft departing Kaliningrad air space. It was not communicating, so once intercepted we shadowed the aircraft to protect civilian air traffic in the immediate area.”

The missions form part of Operation Chessman, the UK’s contribution to NATO’s enhanced Air Policing efforts, alongside personnel from Sweden—NATO’s newest member. Quick Reaction Alert (QRA) operations such as these aim to protect the integrity of NATO airspace and ensure the safety of civilian air traffic in the region.

Malbork Air Base hosts regular RAF detachments for Baltic air policing, reflecting the UK’s ongoing commitment to the security of NATO’s eastern flank amid continued tensions with Russia.