Baltic air policing
Our picture here kindly provided by the (UK) Ministry of Defence shows a Russian Su-27 Flanker intercepted by the Royal Air Force within NATO’s area of interest near Estonia on 17 May 2016.
Royal Air Force Typhoons stationed in Estonia as part of the NATO Baltic Air Policing mission have scrambled for the second time during their current deployment to intercept Russian aircraft in NATO’s area of interest. The Typhoons scrambled on 17 May to investigate five unresponsive Russian aircraft over international waters. The Russian aircraft – identified as four Su-27 Flanker fighters and one Coot-A communications aircraft – were not communicating with air traffic control, and did not transmit a recognised identification code.