France intercepts Russian Il-20 aircraft off Estonian coast – video
France has claimed that one of its Mirage 2000 fighter jets intercepted a Russian Il-20 reconnaissance and surveillance aircraft off the coast of Estonia.
Source: European Pravda, citing the French General Staff
Details: The brief statement said that France had scrambled the Mirage 2000 and intercepted the Il-20 aircraft off the coast of Estonia.
"The aim: to protect the airspace of our Baltic allies," the French General Staff added, without going into details.
#eAP | Décollage sur alerte et interception d’un avion de reconnaissance et de renseignement Il-20 « Coot » 🇷🇺 au large des côtes 🇪🇪 par les Mirage 2000-5 🇫🇷.
— Armée française - Opérations militaires (@EtatMajorFR) February 27, 2024
Objectif : protéger l’espace aérien de nos alliés baltes. 🛡️ pic.twitter.com/QjdzyrARwG
French military aircraft are deployed in some NATO member states as part of a mission called NATO Air Policing, which aims to maintain the security of the Alliance's airspace. These missions were reinforced after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Since then, there have been several interceptions of aircraft that have not resulted in any serious incidents. In March 2023, for example, a Russian aircraft collided with a US drone in the Black Sea.
Last week, French Defence Minister Sébastien Lecornu said that Russian forces had threatened to shoot down French aircraft patrolling international airspace over the Black Sea last month.Support UP or become our patron!
