Incredible photo shows Russian Tu-22 bomber, Su-27 and other fighter planes intercepted over the Baltic

On Mar. 29, two Russian Tu-22M Backfire bombers, escorted by four Su-27 Flanker fighter jets, conducted a simulated night attack on Sweden. The mock air strike did not cause any reaction by the Swedish air force.

On Apr. 24, a Russian Air Force Il-20 Coot ELINT (Electronic Intelligence) plane flew close to the two big strategically placed Swedish isles of Öland and Gotland.

On Jun. 3, a flight of two French Air Force Mirage F1CRs tasked with the Baltic QRA intercepted and identified another Il-20 spyplane less than ten minutes after the scramble order was issued to the two fighter jets at Siauliai, Lithuania, by CRP (Control and Reporting Post), of Amari, Estonia.

The French planes escorted the Russian plane for some minutes until two Jas-39 Gripen Swedish took over (previously, Swedish Air Force was blamed for not dispatching Gripens to intercept the spyplanes flying close to Sweden’s airspace).

On Jun. 11, Finland’s Ministry of Defense claimed Russian bombers escorted by Su-27 Flankers violated the Finnish airspace for the second time in the last few weeks.

And later, the French Air Force released the following stunning images of the close encounters with the Russians over the Baltic Sea on Jun. 8 and 11….

Su-27 intercepted

Notice the presence of a Su-24 Fencer and A-50 Mainstay.

Russians 5

Russians 4

Russians 3

Russians 1

Sources: EMA Rights: Department of Defense

Enhanced by Zemanta

Salva

About David Cenciotti
David Cenciotti is a journalist based in Rome, Italy. He is the Founder and Editor of “The Aviationist”, one of the world’s most famous and read military aviation blogs. Since 1996, he has written for major worldwide magazines, including Air Forces Monthly, Combat Aircraft, and many others, covering aviation, defense, war, industry, intelligence, crime and cyberwar. He has reported from the U.S., Europe, Australia and Syria, and flown several combat planes with different air forces. He is a former 2nd Lt. of the Italian Air Force, a private pilot and a graduate in Computer Engineering. He has written five books and contributed to many more ones.