The German Air Force dispatched two Eurofighter jets to monitor a Russian IL-20M reconnaissance aircraft that entered neutral airspace over the Baltic Sea on September 21, 2025.
“Once again, NATO tasked the German Quick Reaction Alert detachment, consisting of two Eurofighters, to investigate an unidentified aircraft without a flight plan or radio contact in international airspace,” the German Delegation to NATO announced in a statement on the evening of September 21, 2025.
After visually identifying the aircraft, the German Air Force transferred the escort responsibility to Swedish NATO allies and returned to Rostock-Laage. The escort process was carried out safely and without any incident.
Cold War era spy aircraft
The Russian aircraft was flying without providing a flight path or radio contact that could signal its presence, according to officials from the Swedish and German air forces.
The Ilyushin Il-20M, known as ‘Coot-A’ by NATO, is a Soviet-made electronic intelligence (ELINT) and reconnaissance aircraft, created during the Cold War and currently used by the Russian Aerospace Forces.
It was designed to gather, assess and transmit electronic signals and imagery intelligence, serving a crucial function in strategic surveillance operations.
NATO’s airspace violations intensify
The event comes as European Union member states have experienced recurring violations of their airspace by Russia during 2025.
On September 19, 2025, three Russian MiG-31 fighter jets unlawfully entered Estonia’s airspace over the Gulf of Finland. They stayed for 12 minutes before heading back to Russia. Tallinn formally requested NATO Article 4 consultations after the incident.
Russia has breached Estonian airspace four times this year and over 40 times since 2014, according to a Facebook post shared on September 21, 2025, by Linas Kojala, the Director of the Eastern Europe Studies Centre in Lithuania and a lecturer in international affairs at Vilnius University.
In July 2025, neighboring Lithuania detected two Gerbera drones crossing over from Belarus, one of which carried two kilograms of explosives. Remains of a similar drone were found on the Baltic coast of Latvia on September 18, 2025.
Russia is also acting provocatively in other eastern flank regions, performing unauthorized flights over NATO territory, including an incident where multiple Gerbera drones violated Polish airspace on the night of September 9, 2025.
After Moscow’s intrusion into Estonian airspace, US President Donald Trump informed a journalist from Lithuania’s national broadcaster (LRT) that the US would protect Poland and the Baltic states if Russia should increase its aggression.
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