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British and German aircraft will patrol together until the end of April as part of NATO’s Baltic air policing mission.
British and Luftwaffe fighter jets were scrambled to intercept a Russian aircraft flying close to Estonian airspace, the Ministry of Defense said on Wednesday, amid growing fears of a confrontation in the skies near Russia and Ukraine.
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Britain and Germany are conducting a joint air policing mission in Estonia as part of NATO’s efforts to strengthen its eastern flank against Russia.
The Ministry of Defense said the Typhoons responded on Tuesday after a Russian air-to-air tanker failed to make contact with Estonian air traffic control.
Russian plane did not enter Estonian airspace, NATO member.
British and German aircraft will patrol together until the end of April as part of NATO’s Baltic air policing mission.
Wing Commander Scott McColl, commander of the 140th Expeditionary Air Wing, RAF, said: “It’s great to see British and German forces working as a team.” Armed Forces Secretary James Heappey ) said: “The joint British and German deployment to the Baltic clearly demonstrates our shared determination to challenge any potential threat to NATO’s borders, while demonstrating our combined strength.” Such interceptions were routine – even before the Russian invasion Ukraine Last year, NATO aircraft intercepted Russian aircraft about 400 times a year.
But the incident came amid rising tensions after a Russian jet collided with a U.S. drone over the Black Sea.
Washington and Moscow gave conflicting accounts of Tuesday’s events.
The United States said a Russian Su-27 fighter jet hit the propeller of an MQ-9 Reaper drone and had to be shot down.
Russia said the drone crashed after making a “sharp maneuver”. The incident appears to be the first time since the height of the Cold War that a U.S. aircraft has been shot down after an encounter with a Russian warplane.
It highlights the risks of a confrontation between Russia and the West during the Ukraine war.
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