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Romanian F-16 fighter jets stationed at a base in Lithuanian Šiauliai as part of an Air Policing mission were launched on Friday. The reason was the entry into the international air zone of the Russian aircraft Su-27. Romanian pilots intercepted the Russians and escorted them away.
NATO Air Command reported today on the situation that occurred over the Baltic Sea on Friday. Two Romanian F-16 fighter jets, serving in the framework of Air Policing, were picked up from a base in Šiauliai, Lithuania, to intercept two Russian Su-27 aircraft.
The Russian fighters flew into a space over international waters that is in a NATO protection area. The two Su-27s did not reveal themselves and did not contact civilian air traffic control personnel.
After the successful intercept, the Romanian F-16s escorted the Russian machines away and returned to the base in Šiauliai.
„The successful completion of the first combat task within the Air Policing mission confirms the high level of readiness of the ‘Carpathian Vipers’ subunit to protect the skies,” said the commander of the F-16 aircraft subunit, Col Cosmin Vlad.
There have been similar situations several times in recent months, as reported by the Dutch Ministry of Defence, whose F-35 aircraft are stationed at the Malbork base.
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