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NATO intercepts two Russian Su-27 fighters operating without transponders, flight plans or radio contact over the Baltic Sea.

Later on 10 July 2026, NATO Baltic Air Policing fighter jets were again dispatched to intercept two Russian Su-27 combat aircraft operating over the Baltic Sea. The two Su-27s were flying through international airspace from and back toward Kaliningrad. Both aircraft had their onboard transponders switched off. They were also operating without pre-filed flight plans and their crews were not maintaining radio communication with regional air traffic control. The combination of combat aircraft, lack of identification signals, absence of flight plans and no radio contact created another non-compliant Russian military flight near NATO-monitored airspace. This was separate from the earlier Su-30/Tu-154 interception on the same date. Lithuania’s Defence Ministry included the incident among NATO responses to international flight-regulation violations near the Baltic States’ borders. The source describes the aircraft as operating in international airspace, so this should not be framed as a confirmed territorial-airspace incursion.

Occurrence

2026-07-10

Publication

2026-07-10T16:10:36Z

First observed

2026-09-24T06:09:10.079Z

Review status

Not assessed

Countries

EE, LT, LV

Updated

2026-09-27T23:56:59.668Z