MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 02nd July, 2020) The United Kingdom's Royal Air Force (RAF) said it launched fighter jets from its airbase in Lithuania to intercept a Russian military jet in a routine air policing mission.
"Royal Air Force Typhoon fighter jets based in Lithuania have launched for the fifth time to intercept Russian aircraft off the Baltic coast line. The Typhoons from RAF Lossiemouth based 6 Squadron RAF, intercepted a Russian IL-78 MIDAS Air to Air refuelling aircraft that was operating over the Baltic Sea and was a routine NATO Air Policing mission," RAF said in a public statement.
The Russian Defense Ministry maintains that military flight communication over the Baltic Sea are done with strict adherence to international law.
Foreign air force units have been based in the Baltic states in different capacities since they joined NATO in 2004. Currently, according to the RAF, they share the air base with the Spanish Air Force while French warplanes are parked at the Amari Air Base in Estonia.
