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Typhoons intercept Russian aircraft near Nato airspace
The Independent
|April 21, 2025
RAF fighter jets have intercepted two Russian aircraft flying close to Nato airspace over the Baltic Sea, marking the first such intervention under Operation Chessman.
Two RAF Typhoons were scrambled from Malbork airbase in Poland on Tuesday to intercept a Russian Ilyushin Il-20M “Coot-A” intelligence aircraft, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) said. A second incident occurred on Thursday when another two Typhoons were launched from the base to intercept an unknown aircraft departing Kaliningrad airspace close to Nato airspace.
The MoD said yesterday that the intercepts mark the RAF’s first scramble as part of Operation Chessman, and come weeks after the aircraft arrived in eastern Poland to begin deployment alongside Sweden in defence of Nato’s eastern flank.
This story is from the April 21, 2025 edition of The Independent.
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