The Italian Air Force Eurofighter Typhoons intercepted a Russian An-26 transport aircraft over the Baltics. And here are some photos.
On Feb. 1, 2018, two Italian Air Force Eurofighter Typhoon F-2000A jets executed their first Alert Scramble to respond to a Russian Federation Air Force aircraft that flew over the Baltic Sea with the transponder turned off.
The two aircraft were actually not launched but “diverted” from a training flight when the Combined Air Operations Centre (CAOC) at Uedem, Germany, detected an unidentified track crossing the Baltic airspace over international waters.
The two ItAF Typhoons, belonging to the Task Force Air 36° Stormo, identified the “zombie” as a Russian Federation Air Force An-26 transport aircraft. According to NATO, the two Italian aircraft flew alongside the transiting Russian plane and broadcast their transponder signal allowing civilian air traffic controllers to keep other air traffic clear of the area.
The Italian Air Force Typhoons have been deployed to Ämari Air Base, Estonia, augmenting NATO’s Baltic Air Policing mission since early January 2018. Together with the Royal Danish Air Force lead detachment at Siaullai, Lithuania, their task is to provide 24/7 fighter capabilities that can be launched by the CAOC at Uedem, Germany, in response to unidentified air tracks in the Baltic Region.
The Italian detachment logged 100 flying hours during training flights over Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania beneficial for both Italian pilots and Baltic military air traffic controllers to further improve skills and interoperability, on Jan. 25, 2018.
This is the second ItAF rotation in support of NATO BAP mission. From Jan. 1 to Aug. 27, 2015, as part of the TFA (Task Force Air) based at Šiauliai, Lithuania, four Typhoons of the 4°, 36° and 37° Stormo (the three Wings that fly the Euro-canard) logged about 900 flying hours, launching for 40 A-Scrambles (Alert Scrambles) and more than 160 T-Scrambles (Training Scrambles) during the first rotation as lead detachment of NATO BAP. Noteworthy, no photograph of intercepted Russian aircraft was released during and after the 2015 detachment, even though the Italians had some really interesting close encounters with some pretty interesting aircraft, including some Tu-160 Blackjack and Su-27 Flanker jets. However, unlike what happened three years ago, this time the Italian MoD has promptly shared some shots of the An-26 intercepted by the Typhoons, including those that you can find in this post.
Image credit: Italy MoD
Oh God, how could this possibly happen to an elite Russian plane and pilot??? Well, again nowhere else to put this but FYI:
Russian Su-25 Fighter Jet Shot Down in Syria, Pilot Killed
“A Russian Su-25 fighter jet has been downed near the Idlib province in northern Syria, media reports. The pilot had successfully ejected but was later killed by militants.”
https://themoscowtimes.com/news/russian-su-25-fighter-jet-downed-in-syria-pilot-reportedly-captured-60383
https://twitter.com/NeilPHauer/status/959805770589261824
Looks like a safe professional intercept. Not what we get from Russian and Chinese air forces now. During the Cold War i remember reading that Soviet TU 95 Bear crews ( somewhat more professional ) would sometimes wave Coke cans and Playboy centerfolds at intercepting USAF jets. Other times they would follow them with the tail guns. Either way much more professional than what they have to deal with now. It doesn’t matter if its a spy plane, military transport or commercial. If its in international airspace, its in international airspace. ” The strobe light is flashing ! ” I doubt a modern Russian or Chinese pilot would blink an eye if ordered to shoot down an airliner. Someone in Ukraine didn’t !