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Polish Fighter Jets Intercept Russian Il-20 Reconnaissance Aircraft Over Baltic Sea
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Polish fighter jets intercepted a Russian Il-20 reconnaissance aircraft over the Baltic Sea on August 31, Polish Defense Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz said.
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According to the minister, the Russian aircraft was intercepted approximately 30 kilometers north of the Polish coastal town of Łeba before noon.
“Russia has once again tested our deterrence and air defense systems,” Kosiniak-Kamysz said. The Polish defense minister stressed that the Russian aircraft did not enter Polish airspace during the incident.
“Before noon, 30 kilometers north of Łeba, our fighter jets intercepted a Russian Il-20 reconnaissance aircraft. There was no violation of our airspace over the Baltic Sea,” he said.
The Il-20, designated “Coot-A” by NATO, is a reconnaissance and electronic intelligence aircraft based on the Ilyushin Il-18 turboprop passenger plane. Introduced into service in the late 1960s, it carries side-looking radar, optical and infrared sensors, and multiple antenna systems for intelligence collection.
Russia uses the aircraft primarily for signals intelligence missions, including monitoring communications and detecting radar emissions. Il-20 flights near NATO territory are regularly tracked and intercepted by allied fighter aircraft.
Separately, on August 20, a drone entered Romanian airspace and crashed in an uninhabited area of Tulcea County, prompting Romanian authorities to scramble military aircraft and issue an alert to residents.
Romanian military radars detected several aerial targets near the Ukrainian border, north of Tulcea County, at around 2:23 a.m., according to the country’s Defense Ministry.
In response, two F-18 fighter jets operated by the Spanish Air and Space Force were scrambled to monitor the targets, while a Romanian Air Force IAR-330 SOCAT helicopter was deployed to conduct aerial reconnaissance.
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