Typhoon jets deployed in Estonia were scrambled twice over the weekend to intercept Russian fighter aircraft.

The aircraft did not enter Estonian airspace.

The Ministry of Defence said that Typhoon jets on QRA alert launched during the evening of Friday the 14th of June to intercept a Russian SU-30 fighter aircraft that was flying to the north of Estonia.

A Typhoon pilot from XI(Fighter) Squadron said in a release:

“We were scrambled to intercept a contact close to Estonian airspace in the early evening, between two periods of poor weather. Shortly after getting airborne we came alongside a SU-30 Flanker fighter aircraft. We escorted the fighter over the Baltic sea, around Estonia and passing over another Russian military transport aircraft in the process.”

Crews made a second scramble on Saturday the 15th of June to intercept a Russian SU-30 Flanker fighter and an Ilyushin IL-76 Candid transport aircraft transiting north from Kaliningrad towards Estonian and Finnish airspace.

The pilot added:

“We scrambled to intercept two contacts that were approaching Estonian airspace from the south. We escorted the two aircraft for 15 minutes as they transited back towards mainland Russia. We then handed over responsibility to two Finnish QRA aircraft, which had also been scrambled as the Russian aircraft operated on the airspace boundary between Estonia and Finland.”

During both intercepts, the aircraft were flown at a safe distance and operated in a professional manner throughout.

The Royal Air Force is deployed on Operation AZOTIZE in Estonia in support of NATO Baltic Air Policing.

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George has a degree in Cyber Security from Glasgow Caledonian University and has a keen interest in naval and cyber security matters and has appeared on national radio and television to discuss current events. George is on Twitter at @geoallison
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Nigel Collins
Nigel Collins
4 years ago

EJ230 engines with the inclusion of conformal fuel tanks would make a big difference in this type of scenario. Captor-E Radar testing at present while thrust vectoring has been available for some time now.

An amazing aircraft, with plenty of potential still left!

“AESA technology could migrate to electronic warfare equipment”
https://www.janes.com/article/89293/aesa-technology-could-migrate-to-electronic-warfare-equipment

John Clark
John Clark
4 years ago
Reply to  Nigel Collins

Should our defence budget ever reach the lofty heights of 3% GDP, I would like to see a batch of block 4 Typhoons ordered ( with blocks 2 and 3 brought up to the same standard), with many of the attributes mentioned by Nigel in his post above. I don’t think I would bother with thrust vectoring as I am yet to be convinced of its merits, I think it just turns you into a large floundering target… But advanced AESA, with electronic attack capability, could unlock tremendous possibly. Captor E (with advanced UK additions) and supporting cutting edge avionics,… Read more »

Nigel Collins
Nigel Collins
4 years ago
Reply to  John Clark

You might find this link interesting John Clark. Fully agree with your post apart from TVN!
https://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/eurojet-pushes-thrust-vectoring-technology-for-typhoon-333501/

Nigel Collins
Nigel Collins
4 years ago
Reply to  Nigel Collins
DaveyB
DaveyB
4 years ago
Reply to  Nigel Collins

Totally agree, TVN brings a lot of benefits to the party, regardless of low speed aerobatics.
For Tempest this would be pre-requisite, as it can help with the aircraft’s stealth by reducing the number of fight control surfaces required.

Marc
Marc
4 years ago

The Sukhoi truly is a beautiful aircraft.

maurice10
maurice10
4 years ago
Reply to  Marc

Remember the old adage, ‘If it looks right, it is right.’ I firmly believe in trickle manufacturing to retain excellence and capability. We are a long time from the next generation fighter, and I would recommend a small workforce on the Typhoon assembly at Warton (once current orders are completed) is occupied with either upgrading, or brand new build, to maintain our logistic strength?