The German Air Force (Luftwaffe) announced that its forces intercepted a Russian Tu-134 and An-12 aircraft over the Baltic Sea after either aircraft did not respond to radio calls and positive aircraft control.
Heute haben sich unsere #Eurofighter der @NATO-Mission #VAPB bei Ihrer Alarmierung gleich um zwei ?? Luftfahrzeuge kümmern müssen. Identifiziert wurden eine Tu-134 CRUSTY und eine An-12 CUB ohne Flugplan und Funkkontakt zu den zivilen Flugsicherungs-Kontrollstellen.#WeAreNATO… pic.twitter.com/pR0Yozf2In
— Team Luftwaffe (@Team_Luftwaffe) June 4, 2024
The last bi-lateral intercept between Germany and the Russian Federation was April 26th, 2023, when the Luftwaffe sent Eurofighters to intercept two Sukhoi Su-27 fighter aircraft and one Ilyushin Il-20 aircraft over the Baltic Sea. However, in March of 2024, German fighters intercepted Russian aircraft near the Estonia border as part of the NATO Air Police Missions.
Both aircraft have several variants ranging from Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) to civilian cargo duties.
The Russian Ministry of Defense has made no comment on this incident and it is not currently clear which vairant of aircraft these are.
