Two Royal Air Force Typhoon jets were scrambled on Thursday, June 5, to intercept a pair of unidentified Russian aircraft approaching NATO airspace over the Baltic Sea.
The intercept, conducted from the 22nd Tactical Air Base in Malbork, Poland, was the second in just three days for British pilots stationed there as part of NATO’s enhanced Air Policing (eAP) mission.
According to a release from the UK’s 140 Expeditionary Air Wing (EAW), the Typhoons—operated by aircrew from No. II (Army Co-operation) Squadron—were launched after an unidentified aircraft was detected exiting Kaliningrad airspace and nearing NATO’s air boundary without radio communication, transponder signals, or a filed flight plan.
The initial contact was identified as an Antonov An-30, designated “CLANK” by NATO—a Soviet-era twin-engine turboprop aircraft used for aerial photography. Upon identification, the RAF jets shadowed the aircraft to monitor its movements and ensure safety for nearby air traffic.
While still on mission, NATO re-tasked the same Typhoon pair to intercept a second aircraft operating in the vicinity. This second contact was identified as an Ilyushin Il-20M “COOT A,” a Russian intelligence-gathering aircraft used for electronic and communications surveillance. The aircraft was similarly shadowed until it left the area.
In a statement, an EAW spokesperson said, “Today was the second time in three days that NATO have scrambled Typhoons from our base in northern Poland. NATO instructed us to scramble, intercept and identify an unknown aircraft transiting close to NATO air space. It was not communicating, SQUAWKing, nor did it file a flight plan. All aircraft must do at least two of the three in accordance with international law.”
The spokesperson added, “Once intercepted and identified we shadowed the aircraft to protect civilian air traffic in the immediate area. This is common practice as without SQUAWKing or communicating, civilian aircraft and air traffic controllers cannot be confident with the non-communicating aircraft’s movements.”
The UK’s current deployment at Malbork Air Base, known as Operation Chessman, is part of NATO’s standing air policing operations. RAF personnel, working alongside Sweden, NATO’s newest member, continue to conduct Quick Reaction Alert duties amid persistent airspace tensions along the alliance’s eastern flank.