A French Mirage 2000 fighter plane intercepted a Russian aircraft off the Estonian coast, the General Staff of the Armed Forces announced on Tuesday on X.
“Takeoff on alert and interception of a Russian Il-20 “Coot” reconnaissance and intelligence aircraft off the Estonian coast by French Mirage 2000-5s.
Objective: protect the airspace of our Baltic allies,” wrote the French General Staff account, without going into detail.
#eAP |
Takeoff on alert and interception of an Il-20 “Coot” reconnaissance and intelligence aircraft 🇷🇺 off the coast 🇪🇪 by the Mirage 2000-5 🇫🇷.
Objective: protect the airspace of our Baltic allies.
🛡️ pic.twitter.com/QjdzyrARwG
— French Army - Military Operations (@EtatMajorFR) February 27, 2024
French military aircraft are deployed in certain NATO member countries as part of a mission called “NATO sky police” whose aim is to “preserve the security of the Alliance’s airspace” , according to the organization's website.
“This collective mission involves the continuous presence – 24 hours a day, 365 days a year – of fighters and pilots capable of responding quickly to possible violations committed in the airspace and taking appropriate measures,” it is also written. .
These missions have been strengthened since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
A tense context
This interception carried out by a French fighter comes the day after an important meeting of Ukraine's European allies in Paris.
During the interview, Emmanuel Macron said that sending Western troops to Ukraine in the future “could not be ruled out”.
A sentence widely commented on by senior leaders of NATO member countries and by the French political opposition.
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.