NATO fighters scrambled to intercept two Russian military aircraft near allied airspace over the Baltic Sea during a single back-to-back sortie from Ämari AB, Estonia, earlier this week, Royal Air Force officials announced. Estonian controllers detected a lone Russian Il-20M “Coot A” electronic intelligence aircraft flying without a flight plan tracking along allied airspace on June 8, according to the RAF release. Two RAF Eurofighter Typhoons, deployed to Estonia as part of NATO’s Baltic Air Policing mission, scrambled to intercept and identify the aircraft. Shortly after the intercept, controllers re-directed the fighters to identify a second aircraft heading toward Lithuanian airspace from Kaliningrad, identifying it as a Russian An-26 transport, according to the release. “This is the fourth intercept tasking we have had,” said detachment boss RAF Wing Commander Stu Smiley. RAF Typhoons and Royal Norwegian Air Force F-16s rotated to Ämari on May 1, and will provide allied air cover for the Baltic States through August, according to a second release.
A combined Navy and Air Force program is seeking to build a smaller version of a ubiquitous air-to-air missile that could give advanced aircraft, such as the Collaborative Combat Aircraft, greater magazine depth in a high-end fight.