All the three interceptions involved the IL-20 military reconnaissance aircraft of the Russian Federation that was flying over the international waters of the Baltic Sea near the borders of the Baltic states without using its onboard transponder but maintaining radio communication with air traffic control centre.
In two cases out of three, the Russian aircraft was following a pre-filed flight plan, the Ministry of National Defence said on Monday.
NATO fighter-jets guarding the Baltic skies are deployed in Lithuania, Estonia and Poland. In the end of last year, NATO warned that the increased number of Russian military flights with transponders switched off constitute a threat to civilian aviation.
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