F-16 Fighting Falcon fighters of the Portuguese Air Force (FAP) intercepted two Russian military aircraft last Monday (15), during a police mission in the Baltic Sea. This was Portugal's first interception during its seventh rotation in NATO air operations.
according to NATO Air Command, The planes were alerted by the Combined Air Operations Center in Udem, Germany, which detected two unidentified communications over the Baltic Sea.
The aircraft were an Ilyushin Il-76 Candid cargo ship and an electronically intelligent turboprop Il-20 Kut aircraft. The latter is often intercepted by NATO fighters patrolling the area. “This strong signal of vigilance and commitment from the Alliance demonstrates the close cohesion between allies, maintaining the credibility of deterrence and defence.”NATO says.
After the successful intercept, the FAP F-16s returned to Šiauliai Air Base, Lithuania. The FAP air detachment includes four F-16M fighters and 95 soldiers. They joined the Spanish F/A-18 Hornet detachment, which leads the 65th Air Police Mission Course.
NATO has maintained a permanent mission to monitor the Baltic airspace for 20 years, since Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania joined the military alliance. As part of the Baltic Air Policing (BAP), allied countries rotate detachments of four to six fighter aircraft at air bases in the region, resulting in numerous interceptions of Russian military aircraft, from intelligence models to fighters and bombers.
