Russian Il-20M SIGINT aircraft was intercepted by German Eurofighter over Baltic sea.

In a recurring episode in the Baltic region, a Russian Aerospace Forces Il-20M electromagnetic intelligence (SIGINT) aircraft was intercepted on August 26, 2024, by a Eurofighter from the German Air Force (Luftwaffe). This incident adds to a significant list of recent weeks involving various air resources from the Russian and German military forces deployed in the region.
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Incercepted Russian IL-20 ELINT Plane  and escorted by 2 Luftwaffe Eurofighter Typhoon. Wingman who take picture keep a missile lock distance (Picture source: Luftwaffe)

As in previous incidents, NATO's command and surveillance center located in Uedem detected an aircraft flying without a filed flight plan and with its transponders turned off. Consequently, the QRA protocol was activated to intercept this contact, once again involving the Luftwaffe's Eurofighters in the region fulfilling air policing missions in support of allies in the Baltic region.

Images released by the Luftwaffe on August 26 revealed the presence of an Il-20M Coot-A, a variant specialized in electromagnetic intelligence (SIGINT) based on the Il-18, in service with the Russian Aerospace Forces, marking the second time in August that this type of aircraft has been intercepted by German fighters in the region; the first episode was reported on August 14.

To date, such incidents have been repeated in the airspace over the Baltic, as indicated by various reports published by NATO and the VKS. Although many of these flights are conducted according to international laws, they remain an indication of how NATO forces and Russian armed forces test the reaction and response capabilities of integrated air surveillance systems.

The situation has become so recurrent that, just 48 hours after recording this episode, the German Air Force also reported on August 27 that another similarly operating Russian aircraft had been intercepted by its Eurofighters. However, this time it was a variant of the Il-20M, designated Coot-C, specialized in electronic intelligence gathering (ELINT), marking the third episode of the month involving this class of VKS aircraft.

These interceptions and escorts are relatively frequent, but their frequency seems to be slightly increasing, echoing NATO's SIGINT flights within alliance airspace near Russia, Belarus, and Ukraine.