BRUSSELS, March 15. /TASS/. German and British fighter jets were scrambled to intercept Russian aircraft near Estonia’s airspace, the NATO Air Command (AIRCOM) reported on Wednesday.
"The joint Germany and Great Britain on NATO Air Policing mission in Estonia completed their first A-Scramble. Illustrating the Alliance’s steadfast commitment to our shared security. Allied fighters carried out a routine intercept of a Russian Il-78 and an AN-148 aircraft," AIRCOM said on Twitter.
The BBC said this was the first joint mission of its kind. The report said the incident took place on Tuesday. The warplanes, including Britain’s Typhoon jets, were scrambled from an airfield in Estonia after a Russian Il-78 refueling aircraft was intercepted as it was flying between St. Petersburg and Kaliningrad. The Russian aircraft was unresponsive to any attempts at communication, the BBC said. The German and British jets escorted the Il-78, after which they were redirected to also intercept a Russian An-148 military transport aircraft that was also flying close to Estonia, the BBC added.
The Russian Defense Ministry has repeatedly stated that Russian warplane flights to and from the Kaliningrad Region are conducted above neutral waters in strict compliance with international airspace use rules.