In the most recent of numerous similar incidents, six Russian aircraft were identified over the Baltic Sea region on Friday and Saturday, as a result of which German fighter jets stationed in Latvia were raised to intercept them and ensure they did not violate NATO airspace.
Virs Baltijas jūras reģiona 20. un 21.septembrī tika identificēti seši 🇷🇺 lidaparāti bez lidojuma plāna un ieslēgtiem transponderiem.
— Gaisa spēki (@gaisa_speki) September 21, 2024
🇱🇻 izvietotie #balticairpolicing 🇩🇪 iznīcinātāji #eurofighter devās lidojumā, kurā pārkāpējus brīdināja un pavadīja.#wearenato #drošasdebesis pic.twitter.com/JZ7N2veTls
Masulis commented that these days there was a slightly greater presence of Russian planes over the Baltic Sea, however, this is "everyday life", as Russia always wants to show its presence in the region. It should also be noted that these aircraft were identified in the Baltic Sea region at a time when Russia is conducting large-scale military exercises dubbed "Okean-2024".
"I wouldn't call it an emergency [situation] under any circumstances. These are daily tasks. We have at least two, three to four such sorties every week... This has been happening for years," said Masulis.
The aircraft identified on Friday and Saturday did not have their transponders turned on and thus posed a potential danger to civilian aviation. This is common practice for the Russian air force which has little regard for civilian life.
"The most dangerous thing, why it is also very important for civil aviation, is these switched-on transponders that are very important. Because if the transponder is not switched on, civilian radar does not see such aircraft. This means that the civilian controller does not even know that Russian aircraft at the corresponding altitude and in the air corridor... It is very dangerous that something invisible is flying," explained Masulis, saying that part of the point of NATO's interceptions was to identify unidentified planes so as to improve the safety of civilian aviation.
This year, until the end of August, 109 instances of Russian military aircraft being detected over the Baltic Sea at the outer border of Latvia's territorial waters have been recorded. A total of 159 such cases were detected last year.
The appearance of such aircraft in the airspace over the Baltic Sea is monitored by NATO's Baltic Airspace Policing mission.
