On 31 July the (UK) Ministry of Defence reported that RAF fighter jets operating from Siauliai Air Base, Lithuania on Operation AZOTIZE had intercepted a Russian military formation operating over the Baltic Sea.

The Typhoons approached the Russian formation to identify its composition and established it was an IL-38 MAY Maritime Patrol Aircraft, being escorted by two SU-27 Flanker B Fighters.

This was the first time in recent years that the RAF have seen and intercepted a MAY which was operating alongside a Russian Oscar class submarine, which the Typhoons photographed on the surface as it transited towards the West across the Baltic Sea.