NATO fighters scramble to intercept Russian aircraft

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.