British and German fighter jets tried on Tuesday in a joint NATO mission to intercept two Russian planes flying near Estonia – hours after a Kremlin fighter jet shot down a US drone over the Black Sea – amid fears of an escalation in the country Region.
The RAF and German Typhoon jets responded to a Russian air-to-air refueling aircraft after it failed to communicate with Estonian air traffic control in the Baltic Sea and as it approached NATO airspace.
The Russian Il-78 Midas plane was intercepted while flying between St. Petersburg and Kaliningrad. The NATO jets were later diverted to also intercept a Russian An-148 plane that was also flying near Estonian airspace.
It was the first joint NATO air policing skirmish carried out by the two countries and comes amid a period of heightened tensions in the region stemming from Vladimir Putin’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine and his threats against Kiev’s Western allies.
Russia today warned it would “consider any action involving US weapons as openly hostile” following yesterday’s drone incident in international airspace.
British and German Typhoon fighter jets (pictured in a photo released by the German Luftwaffe) tried in a joint NATO mission on Tuesday to intercept a Russian plane flying near Estonia, hours after a Kremlin fighter jet overran a US drone shot down in the Black Sea
The Russian Il-78 Midas plane (pictured in a picture released by the German Air Force on Tuesday) flew between St. Petersburg and Kaliningrad
US officials said the MQ-9 surveillance drone was shot down by two Russian Su-27 fighter jets after an “unsafe and unprofessional interception” in international airspace.
Pentagon officials said the Russian fighters harassed the drone by dumping fuel on it and flying in front of it before a Su-27 clipped the $32 million drone’s propeller, causing it to go over the black with a total loss of the UAV sea drifted .
The US State Department has summoned Anatoly Antonov, Russia’s ambassador to the US, to a protest after the Russian fighter jet collided with the drone in the early hours of the morning, destroying it.
The two incidents come as Britain prepares to take over from Germany the leadership of NATO’s mission in Estonia, one of the three Baltic states (all NATO members) that also border Russia.
Putin has repeatedly claimed that his February 24 invasion of Ukraine was a reaction to the expansion of the NATO military alliance to Russia’s borders — and to Ukraine’s own ambitions to join the group.
Kyiv and the West says Putin’s attack on Ukraine is a crime of aggression fueled by his imperialist ambitions to seize former Soviet territory and obliterate a sovereign country – in violation of international law.
The expansion of NATO over the past few decades is in itself a reaction to growing fears of Russian aggression. Since invading Ukraine, both Finland and Sweden have stated their own intentions to join the alliance, ending decades of nonalignment.
While the war is raging around 800 kilometers further south, British pilots are currently conducting joint air police operations in Estonia together with the German Air Force for the first time.
The Russian Midas flew from Russia’s second largest city, St. Petersburg, which is close to the border with Finland and Estonia and lies on the Baltic Sea.
It traveled to Kaliningrad, a Russian semi-enclave also on the Baltic Sea, Russia’s westernmost point.
After escorting the Midas tanker plane, the two NATO jets were diverted to intercept the An-148 airliner, which was also approaching Estonian airspace.
The Defense Ministry stressed the “routine nature” of the mission, but it comes amid tensions between the West and Russia over the invasion of Ukraine.
British Defense Secretary James Heappey said: “NATO continues to be the bedrock of our collective security.
“This joint UK-German deployment in the Baltics clearly demonstrates our shared determination to challenge any potential threat to NATO’s borders while demonstrating our collective strength.”
A Typhoon pilot of the IX. (Bomber) Squadron of the RAF, which was not named by the Defense Ministry, said: “We were tasked with intercepting an aircraft approaching Estonian airspace. We identified and monitored it as it passed near NATO airspace.
“Any aircraft not communicating with air traffic control or on an approved flight plan will be intercepted by us to ensure we know who they are and to maintain flight safety for all airspace users.
“As a fighter pilot, it was routine, even though I was flying alongside a German colleague. It’s clear that all our training and hard work has paid off as we have worked together seamlessly.’
The jets involved in the mission are part of the RAF’s 140 Expeditionary Air Wing and the German 71 Tactical Air Wing Richthofen.
The commander of the RAF’s 140th Expeditionary Air Wing, Wing Commander Scott Maccoll, said it was “terrific” to see British and German forces “operating as a team”.
The NATO jets also diverted a Russian An-148 plane (pictured in photos released by the German Air Force) that was also flying near Estonian airspace
The UK is preparing to take over from Germany the leadership of the NATO mission in Estonia, one of the three Baltic states (all NATO members) and bordering Russia. Pictured: British troops take part in exercises in Estonia in February 2022, weeks before Russia invaded Ukraine
Details of the mission came amid a fresh reminder of the depth of tensions between Russia and the US after a Russian fighter jet struck the propeller of a US surveillance drone over the Black Sea.
The US called it a “blatant violation of international law” and prompted American forces to bring down the UAV.
Moscow said the US drone maneuvered sharply and crashed into the water after an encounter with Russian warplanes trying to intercept it near Crimea, but insisted its warplanes did not fire their weapons or hit the drone .
The incident appears to be the first time since the height of the Cold War that a US plane has been shot down after an encounter with a Russian fighter jet.
“This incident demonstrates a lack of competence, in addition to being unsafe and unprofessional,” Pentagon press secretary Air Force Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder said in a news conference.
The incident happened in international airspace, but not far from the fighting that was raging on the front lines of the war in Ukraine.
The Russian Defense Ministry claimed the US drone was flying towards its airspace with the transponder turned off and that the Russian fighters had been dispatched to investigate.
“Russian fighters did not use air forces and did not come into contact with the American drone,” the ministry said in a statement.
“Due to sharp maneuvering, the American drone went into an uncontrolled flight with loss of altitude and collided with the water surface,” the statement added.
Russian Ambassador Antonov was summoned to discuss the incident, US spokesman Ned Price said, calling it a “blatant violation of international law”.
Antonov accused the US of “provocation” and said the Russian fighter jet failed to shoot down the Reaper drone.
Moscow has repeatedly expressed concern over US intelligence flights near the Crimean peninsula, which Russia seized and illegally annexed from Ukraine in 2014.
The Kremlin has accused the US and its allies of effectively interfering in the conflict by supplying arms to Ukraine and sharing intelligence with Kiev.
Yesterday the US State Department subpoenaed Anatoly Antonov, Russia’s ambassador to the US, to voice protest after the Russian fighter jet collided with and destroyed an American Reaper drone (pictured) in the early hours of Tuesday morning
Russian Sukhoi SU-27
Type: fighter jet
Crew: One
Top speed: 1,550 km/h
Length: 72ft
Wingspan: 48ft
Range: 2,193 miles
Cost: $30 million
Armament: 30mm cannons, air-to-air/land missiles, rockets and bombs
US MQ-9 Reaper
Type: Surveillance Drone
Remote Crew: Two
Top speed: 300 km/h
Length: 36ft
Wingspan: 66ft
Range: 1,150 miles
Cost: $32 million
Armament: AGM-114 Hellfire missiles, GBU-12 Paveway II, GBU-38 Joint Direct Attack Munition, GBU-49 Enhanced Paveway II and GBU-54 Laser Joint Direct Attack Munition
Kirby, the White House spokesman, said the State Department “will be speaking directly to its Russian counterparts and voicing our concerns about this unsafe and unprofessional wiretapping.”
“If the message is that they want to discourage us from flying or from operating in international airspace over the Black Sea, then that message will fail,” Kirby said.
“We don’t have to check in with the Russians before flying in international airspace. There is no obligation to do that and neither do we,” he added.
While the United States does not sail warships in the Black Sea, it has routinely flown surveillance aircraft in and around the area.
When the news of the downed drone broke, Moscow demanded that the previously nameless Su-27 pilot be given a high state honor and a monetary award.
Russian Lieutenant General Andrey Gurulev praised the pilot and called for more action to neutralize drones flying near Crimea and designed to help Ukraine hit targets.
“Patriots rejoice at the drone’s downing,” he said. “My friends, I can assure you that everyone is delighted.
“Everyone’s excited because this is probably one of the key moments in our special [military] Operation. The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation have shown that the country’s patience is not infinite.
“And this so-called incident is probably the crucial one…because these US intelligence agencies and their satellites are leaking information to the Ukrainian army today.”
He called for illegal action against AWACS, reconnaissance and communications satellites, including Starlinks.
Gurulev – a prominent pro-Putin TV propagandist – said: “So there is something to be done to put all these intelligence brigades in their place. But no one doubts the heroism of the pilot. No doubt he will receive a worthy state award.”
A poll on a pro-war Telegram channel said the pilot was to be made a ruble millionaire with a cash prize of £10,900.
Telegram channel PolitNavigator said the Russian Navy was “busily busy picking up the debris” that US forces were also trying to recover.
“Some of the fragments were fished out of the water,” the report said. There is evidence that other debris from the drone has sunk.