British fighter jets intercept 2 Russian aircraft near NATO airspace

British Royal Air Force (RAF) fighter jets intercepted two Russian aircraft near NATO airspace last week, the British Ministry of Defence (MoD) said Sunday.

According to the MoD, two RAF Typhoon jets were scrambled from Malbork Air Base in Poland on Tuesday to intercept a Russian Ilyushin Il-20M "Coot-A" intelligence aircraft over the Baltic Sea. On Thursday, another two Typhoons were deployed from the same base to intercept an unidentified aircraft departing Kaliningrad airspace and approaching NATO territory.

These were the RAF's first intercept missions under Operation Chessman, following the recent arrival of British aircraft in eastern Poland to support NATO's eastern flank alongside Sweden, it said.

This also marks the first time Sweden has contributed fighter aircraft to another NATO member's air policing mission since joining the alliance in 2024, it said.

The MoD confirmed that Britain has deployed six Typhoon jets and nearly 200 personnel to support NATO's air policing efforts.