NATO has confirmed that Italian Eurofighters based in Estonia and Hungarian Gripens operating from Lithuania scrambled this week to monitor Russian aircraft flying close to allied airspace.

According to NATO Air Command, “This week Italian Eurofighters based in Estonia and the Hungarian Gripens located in Lithuania scrambled to monitor Russian aircraft flying close to NATO airspace. NATO’s air policing assets in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania remain steadfast as they continue to safeguard the integrity of NATO airspace from any potential threat.”

The intercepts form part of NATO’s Baltic Air Policing mission, which has operated continuously since 2004 to protect the airspace of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, all of which lack their own fighter aircraft.

Such scrambles are routine but reflect the persistent tempo of Russian military aviation activity near NATO borders. The alliance regularly identifies, tracks and intercepts Russian aircraft that fail to file flight plans or maintain radio contact while flying near allied airspace.

Operation Eastern Sentry, launched on 12 September 2025, was created in response to a Russian drone incursion into Polish territory that led Warsaw to invoke Article 4 of the NATO Treaty.

The operation brings together forces from Denmark, France, Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom to protect NATO’s eastern flank. It established a unified approach to air and missile defence along the alliance’s borders, replacing the previous system in which individual nations handled aerial threats independently.

The background to Eastern Sentry traces back to earlier efforts such as Baltic Sentry, launched in January 2025 to reinforce NATO’s military presence in the Baltic Sea. Poland’s Prime Minister Donald Tusk described the September incursion as bringing the country “the closest to an armed conflict since the Second World War.” In announcing the new mission, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said that “Russia’s recklessness in the air along our eastern flank is increasing in frequency. Whether intentional or not, it is dangerous and unacceptable.”

Rutte added that NATO’s deterrence measures now extend from the North Atlantic to the Black Sea, integrating air, land and maritime elements under a common command structure. He stated that the operation demonstrates the alliance’s readiness to “defend every inch of Allied territory” and its determination to confront any further violations of European airspace.

Tom Dunlop
Tom has spent the last 13 years working in the defence industry, specifically military and commercial shipbuilding. His work has taken him around Europe and the Far East, he is currently based in Scotland.

10 COMMENTS

  1. OMG no, this is shocking, every day we are having to Scramble and Intercept hostile bogies both at sea and in the air, how long can we survive this onslaught.

  2. When I first saw the thumbnail I thought “are we bringing the Tornado F3s back into service”?

    Anything for saving with this lot (and the last lot)!

      • Indeed, likewise. In their final configuration, with AMRAAM and ASRAAM, and the Radar upgrades, they were very good interceptors (not necessarily dogfighters, which is not what they were intended to be).

        They were still pretty formiddable with semi-recessed Skyflash and Sidewinders.

        Those upgrades to carry ALARM for op Telic were ace too. I wonder if the UK will get any anti-radiation missiles within the next decade…. I know a lot of people have said there is less need for them than in previous decades, but some countries seem to still see value in dedicated anti-radiation missiles.

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