KALININGRAD, June 15. /TASS/. Russia’s Su-27 fighter jets were scrambled to intercept US Air Force B-52H bombers and foreign spy aircraft over the Baltic Sea, the Defense Ministry of Russia reported on Monday.
"On June 15, 2020, the quick reaction alert air defense forces of the Western Military District timely uncovered the operations of US Air Force B-52H bombers and reconnaissance aircraft of foreign states over the neutral waters of the Baltic Sea, following which they were shadowed by Russian fighters," the ministry said in a statement.
"At a considerable distance from the state border of the Russian Federation, the aircraft of foreign states were continuously tracked by Russian radar stations. Su-27 fighters of the Baltic Fleet’s naval aviation were scrambled to intercept the targets in the air," the statement runs.
The spy aircraft and bombers of the US Air Force and NATO countries conducted flights over the Baltic Sea as part of NATO’s Baltops 2020 exercise, the ministry said.
The Su-27 fighters did not allow the violation of Russia’s state border. The crews of the Russian combat planes performed flights in strict compliance with the international rules of using the airspace, Russia’s Defense Ministry stressed.
It was earlier reported that the Russian Baltic Fleet’s forces and capabilities were tracking the exercise Baltops 2020 of the US Navy and European countries running in the southern and central parts of the Baltic Sea.
NATO’s ongoing Baltops 2020 naval exercise involves 17 member states and two partner countries. A total of 28 warships and 28 aircraft and helicopters and around 3,000 personnel are taking part in NATO’s Baltops 2020 drills.