NATO jets intercept Russian warplanes carrying missiles over Baltic

NATO jets intercept Russian warplanes carrying missiles over Baltic 

 
NATO jets intercepted two Russian SU-30 warplanes carrying supersonic missiles over the Baltic Sea as Vladimir Putin continues to taunt the West with aggressive shows of Moscow 's military strength. Last week, the Swedish Airforce announced that its JAS 39 Gripen fighters intercepted two Russian combat aircraft believed to be armed with KH-31 missiles, a supersonic anti-radiation weapon designed to destroy ships and air defenses units.

An Il-20 signals intelligence aircraft was also identified in the mission and swiftly escorted away. 'The Swedish Air Force is always on alert,' the nation's Armed Forces account tweeted in the wake of the successful interception, which was carried out with the assistance of Denmark.

 

It comes amid urgent efforts by NATO to bolster the eastern frontier with greater defences, after Russia's unprecedented intrusion into Polish airspace on September 9 when up to 23 drones entered the territory. Romania then accused Moscow of breaching its airspace on September 13, as Latvia reported a drone crashing in its east. And on Monday, Poland said a civilian drone flew over its presidential palace and government buildings, describing the incident as another 'provocation'.

Meanwhile, Putin has put NATO further on edge by conducting war games with Belarus as part of the Zapad 2025 drills, which have historically been used to test different military strategies ahead of invasions. The Swedish Airforce began conducting operations in international airspace over the southern Baltic Sea after suspicious reports of aircraft traveling without flight plans and with their transponders turned off.

Swedish fighter aircraft then identified and escorted away a Su-30SM and a Su-30SM2 from Russia ’s Baltic Fleet. Both were fitted with Kh-31 air-to-surface missiles, weapons capable of traveling at speeds up to Mach 3 as they penetrate modern ship defenses and destroy enemy vessels. The Il-20M reconnaissance plane also specializes in electronic intelligence (ELINT) and communications intelligence (COMINT), enabling Moscow to keep track of NATO networks.

 

Sweden and Denmark's quick response shows how Putin's mounting aggression has put Europe on high alert, with some military experts warning that NATO must take seriously the recent drone incursions or risk invasion. 'NATO has suddenly woken up - or finally woken up,' said Hamish de Bretton-Gordon OBE, a former British Army colonel.

' We played lip service to the peace dividend... really giving the impression to Putin that we weren't that bothered and we didn't care. So in a way, it is slightly our own fault. We've got a show resolve now, otherwise he will keep going.' European allies have rushed to organize an 'Eastern Sentry' mission to bolster security on the eastern flank, including the deployment of two F-16 fighter jets and a frigate from Denmark, three Rafale fighter jets from France and four Eurofighter jets from Germany.

 

In scenes from the Zapad 2025 drills in Belarus, fighter jets, attack drones and helicopters flew over a training ground hemmed in by trees as infantry practiced firing automatic weapons, mortars and missile systems and riding into combat on motorcycles. The exercises unnerved some neighbouring countries, as Moscow's war in Ukraine grinds towards its fourth year. Warsaw temporarily closed its border with Belarus as a precaution.

Long a staunch Russian ally, President Alexander Lukashenko allowed Moscow to use Belarus to send tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine in February 2022, and has since allowed Russia to station tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus. Poland sent 40,000 troops to be deployed on its eastern border to prepare for the drills, with Prime Minister Donald Tusk warning that the West is at its closest to open conflict since World War Two. He dubbed the military exercises 'very aggressive' and closed the country's border with Belarus in preparation of the drills, which began on September 12 and concluded on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, the successive drone incursions into eastern European airspace have prompted calls for tangible support to Ukraine and the neighbors to its west. Polish foreign minister said NATO should start shooting down Russian drones and missiles over Ukraine , a sentiment echoed by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and aired since the start of the war.

'I've been calling for a no-fly zone in Ukraine against civilian targets and I believe NATO should do that,' de Bretton-Gordon said. 'That sort of resolve will show to Putin that we are really, really serious here, and I don't think we should be cowered by Medvedev and Peskov threatening World War III if we do that sort of stuff.' Just over the past two weeks, Zelensky said on Telegram, Russia has launched more than 3,500 drones, more than 2,500 powerful glide bombs and almost 200 missiles at targets inside Ukraine.