A French Mirage 2000 fighter plane intercepted a Russian aircraft off the Estonian coast. French military aircraft are deployed in certain NATO member countries as part of a mission called “NATO sky police” The aim is to “preserve the security of the Alliance’s airspace” These missions have been strengthened since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Several interceptions of devices have been reported since the start of the war in Ukraine without causing any major incident. In March 2023, a Russian plane, for example, struck an American drone in the Black Sea.