The Estonian government alleged on Sept. 19 that three Russian MiG-31 fighter jets entered Estonian airspace without permission and remained there for nearly 12 minutes. The aircraft allegedly breached Estonia’s airspace above Vaindloo Island in the Gulf of Finland, reported ERR News. Estonian authorities claimed that the Russian jets had no flight plans and their transponders were switched off. At the time of the violation, they also lacked two-way radio communication with Estonian air traffic control. Italian air force F-35 fighter jets participating in NATO’s air policing mission scrambled from Ämari Air Base in northern Estonia to monitor the Russian MiGs.
The Moon of Alabama website notes that this “'unprecedentedly brazen intrusion’ into the airspace of Estonia, if it has happened at all, did not take place over Estonia’s mainland but near Vaindloo, an uninhabited rock in the Gulf of Finland in the Baltic Sea, some 26 km (16 mi) north of the Estonian coast.”
Taavi Karotamm, spokesman for the Estonian Defense Forces, told ERR News: “This situation shows that Russia continues to behave aggressively toward its neighboring countries, and its neighbors must take the strengthening of their defense capabilities seriously. At the same time, the situation once again confirms the effectiveness of NATO as a defense alliance, as the Baltic Air Policing mission fighters responded swiftly.”
