Alarm start for Eurofighter
German fighter jets identify Kremlin planes off Latvia
March 2, 2024, 4:17 p.m
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A few hours after the German Air Force took over securing NATO airspace over the Baltics, the first alarm launch took place. The reason is Russian military aircraft near Latvian territorial waters.
Two Russian military aircraft near Latvian territorial waters triggered an alarm take-off by German fighter jets on Friday. “Just today we took over airspace security in Latvia and just a few hours later the first mission,” the Air Force announced on X. The Eurofighter aircraft stationed in Latvia were activated because two Russian aircraft without a flight plan were detected by the radars in the Kaliningrad area.
“We identified both aircraft and then ended the operation,” it said. Judging from photos released by the Air Force, the Russian aircraft were an Ilyushin Il-20 reconnaissance aircraft and a rare Il-22M flying command center. According to the Latvian military, the German planes took off from the Lielvarde base, southeast of the capital Riga.
At the beginning of the week, Germany relocated five Eurofighters to Latvia to protect NATO airspace over the Baltics. The soldiers of Tactical Air Force Squadron 74 are supposed to protect the airspace over the three Baltic states, including Estonia and Lithuania, from the beginning of March to the end of November.
Since the Baltic states joined the alliance 20 years ago, NATO states have regularly relocated aircraft to the region as a visible sign of alliance solidarity. Initially, the patrol flights took place with Phantom F-4Fs from the Lithuanian Siauliai airfield. From 2014 to 2023, Ämari military airfield in Estonia was the base for the German Eurofighters.
Due to renovation work at Ämari Air Base, the Air Force is using the Latvian airfield Lielvarde this year. A Luftwaffe spokesman said: “Since air policing began, German fighter aircraft have had to take off more than 2,500 times to identify Russian aircraft approaching Baltic airspace.”