Two Italian Air Force F-35A fighters escorted a Russian An-124 "Ruslan" heavy transport aircraft in the Baltic region. This was reported by Defensa, citing the NATO Allied Air Command (NATO AIRCOM).
According to Defensa, almost every day Russian Aerospace Forces aircraft take off from bases in the Leningrad and Kaliningrad regions and fly over the Baltic Sea. The mission to protect the region is controlled by NATO AIRCOM.
According to the command, the air incident occurred at the end of August. Italian fighters took off from the Estonian air base Emari to intercept the An-124. The picture was taken from the cockpit of the second F-35A.
Currently, the Russian Aerospace Forces has about 13 An-124 units in service.
Defensa recalled that since July 2025, 4 Italian Air Force F-35A fighters have been transferred to the Emari base. Another 4 Hungarian Air Force Saab Gripen fighters and 8 Spanish Air Force Eurofighters arrived at the Zokniai airfield in Lithuania. Since August, they have been patrolling the Baltic airspace.
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