"On Friday, the Republic of Estonia's defense forces confirmed that three Russian MiG-31s had entered airspace near Vaindloo Island in the Gulf of Finland north of Estonia without permission and remained there for around 12 minutes. The MiG-31 "Foxhound," as NATO refers to it, is a high-speed interceptor aircraft designed by Mikoyan during the Cold War. The two-seater combat aircraft, born out of design elements for the earlier MiG-25, can carry a range of air-to-air missiles and, for the modified versions, air-to-surface missiles."
""The fighter jets did not have flight plans, and their transponders were switched off," per the defense forces press release. "At the time of the airspace violation, the fighter jets did not have two-way radio communication with Estonian air traffic control." In response to the breach of allied airspace, Italian air force F-35 Lightning II stealth fighters were scrambled to intercept the Russian jets, Estonia said. The F-35s had been participating in the NATO Baltic Air Policing Mission and are stationed at Ämari Airbase in Estonia."
Three Russian MiG-31 jets entered Estonian airspace near Vaindloo Island in the Gulf of Finland and remained there for around 12 minutes. The incident marked the fourth Estonian airspace violation by Russian military aircraft this year and occurred amid rising tensions with Moscow. The intruding jets lacked flight plans, had transponders switched off, and did not maintain two-way radio contact with Estonian air traffic control. Italian F-35 Lightning II stealth fighters, participating in NATO Baltic Air Policing and based at Ämari Airbase, were scrambled to intercept the Russian jets. No armament details were provided by Estonian authorities.
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