Russian plane intercepted by a Mirage 2000: how do pilots ‘accompany’ aircraft that are too adventurous?. Interception following an airspace violation has been a fairly frequent procedure since the Cold War.
The incident, which fortunately ended well, sparked reactions in a context of growing tensions with Moscow. The situation is enough to make the most hardened pilots turn pale. A French fighter which was patrolling above the Baltic States, as part of a NATO surveillance mission, intercepted a Russian reconnaissance plane off the Estonian coast.