Polish fighter jets intercepted a Russian Il-20 reconnaissance plane on Tuesday after it flew in international airspace over the Baltic Sea without a filed flight plan and with its transponder turned off, the Polish Armed Forces said on Wednesday.
The Operational Command of the Polish Armed Forces stressed that the aircraft did not enter Polish airspace.
"Polish fighter jets intercepted an Il-20 aircraft conducting a reconnaissance mission in international airspace, without a filed flight plan and with its transponder turned off," the command said in a statement.
Jacek Goryszewski, spokesperson for the command, told TVN24 that the incident demonstrated Poland’s vigilance in protecting its airspace.
NATO’s eastern members have been on high alert for potential incursions since September, when three Russian military jets reportedly briefly violated Estonian airspace, just days after more than 20 Russian drones allegedly entered Poland.
Russia had denied intentionally targeting Poland on that occasion. "Targets within Poland’s territory were not planned to be attacked. The maximum flight range of Russian UAVs used in this attack, allegedly crossing into Polish territory, does not exceed 700 km. Nevertheless, we are ready to conduct consultations on this issue with the Ministry of Defence of Poland,” the Russian defence ministry had said.
Last week, US Air Force General Alexus Grynkewich, NATO’s Supreme Allied Commander Europe, told Reuters that Moscow appears to have been deterred by NATO’s strong response last month, but warned that Russia is likely to continue testing the alliance’s boundaries.
