Lyce · Hybrid Watch

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NATO fighters intercept two Russian Su-30 fighters operating from Kaliningrad over the Baltic Sea.

On 22 September 2026, NATO Baltic Air Policing fighters intercepted two Su-30 combat aircraft operating from Russia’s Kaliningrad Oblast. The aircraft flew out from Kaliningrad and subsequently returned there while remaining in international airspace. Both were operating with their radar transponders switched off, without pre-filed flight plans and without maintaining radio communication with regional air-traffic control. These three characteristics distinguish the sortie from normal controlled civilian aviation and led NATO fighters to identify and monitor the formation. No territorial-airspace penetration or hostile weapons activity was reported.

Occurrence
2026-09-22
Publication
2026-09-22
First observed
2026-10-05T14:29:15.028Z
Review status
Not assessed
Countries
EE, LT, LV
Updated
2026-10-05T16:30:16.433Z

Attribution

Official

Facts

No facts

Sources

  1. Role
    discovery_lead
    Date
    2026-09-21T23:29:38Z

    On 22 September 2026, NATO Baltic Air Policing fighters intercepted two Su-30 combat aircraft operating from Russia’s Kaliningrad Oblast. The aircraft flew out from Kaliningrad and subsequently returned there while remaining in international airspace. Both were operating with their radar transponders switched off, without pre-filed flight plans and without maintaining radio communication with regional air-traffic control. These three characteristics distinguish the sortie from normal controlled civilian aviation and led NATO fighters to identify and monitor the formation. No territorial-airspace penetration or hostile weapons activity was reported.