Typhoons scrambled twice in one day to intercept Russian aircraft

Typhoon fighter jets operating from Ämari Air Base in Estonia launched twice on Tuesday 25^th June to intercept Russian military aircraft flying close to (but not inside) Estonian airspace.

Typhoons first intercepted a Russian military transport aircraft before later intercepting two Russian Flanker fighters and another military transport aircraft.

This is a routine mission for the Typhoons conducting NATO enhanced Air Policing, providing reassurance that the UK is working in partnership with Estonia.

The contacts on both scrambles flew safely and operated in a professional manner throughout the intercept.

A Typhoon pilot from XI(Fighter) Squadron, attached to 121 Expeditionary Air Wing (EAW), who was conducting Quick Reaction Alert (QRA) duty when the first scramble was called said in an MoD release:

“We were scrambled to intercept a single aircraft that was flying down the Finnish/Estonian border from the East. We were tasked to identify the contact and shadow which is standard protocol.

We identified the contact as an AN-12 (Cub) military transport and shadowed it in a westerly direction. Once the task was completed we were cleared to leave the contact and conduct training in segregated Estonian airspace.”

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