Yesterday, #F16 @beairforce, currently deployed in the #Baltic Region 🇪🇪🇱🇹🇱🇻 to safeguard the integrity of @NATO airspace, intercepted #Russian Flanker Jets flying w/o flight plan. Our mission @BelgiumDefence is to protect your security pic.twitter.com/JBjFxSLXTc </s> Belgian Air Force fighters deployed in the Baltic region on Tuesday intercepted Russian fighter jets, Belgium announced on Wednesday evening.

"Yesterday, Belgian Air Force F-16 currently deployed in the Baltic region to safeguard the integrity of the NATO airspace intercepted Russian Flanker jets flying without a flight plan," the Belgian Air Force said on Twitter.

The announcement did not mention how many Russian aircraft were escorted by Belgian fighters or where it occurred, BNS wrote on Friday morning.

"Flanker" is the NATO reporting name for Russia's Sukhoi Su-27, Su-30, Su-33, Su-35 and Su-37 fighter jets.

Download the ERR News app for Android and iOS now and never miss an update! </s> A Russian fighter jet flew dangerously close to an American reconnaissance aircraft during an “unprofessional” intercept in international airspace over the Black Sea last month, the Pentagon said today.

The American RC-135 was conducting routine operations May 30 when a Russian SU-27 Flanker flew up from behind, passed underneath then crossed over to the American plane’s right-hand side, spokesman Colonel Steve Warren said.

“We don’t know exactly why this intercept was conducted unprofessionally,” he told reporters.

“It may have been a lack of training on the part of the Russian pilot. It may have been just a general level of unprofessionalism of the individual who was flying the Flanker.”

CNN reported that the Russian plane came within just 10 feet of the US aircraft. Warren said only that the Russian jet passed at a “distance we felt was unprofessionally and unsafely close.”

The US plane was intercepted a second time on the same flight, but that was deemed to have been done appropriately, Warren said.

Russian and US planes routinely monitor each other’s movements in international airspace, but this encounter is the latest in a series of incidents sparking concerns over how Russia carries out airborne intercepts.

On April 7, a Russian Flanker jet performed “aggressive manuevers” in close proximity to a US reconnaissance plane in an incident that occurred over the Baltic Sea, in international airspace north of Poland.

The US Navy last month posted a video on YouTube showing a Russian SU-24 jet flying close to the American guided-missile destroyer USS Ross in the Black Sea. The Navy said the Russian jet was not carrying weapons.

NATO jets have in recent months been scrambled to intercept Russian planes approaching Baltic countries’ airspace, amid tensions over the crisis in Ukraine. </s> A U.S. Air Force B-52 Stratofortress takes off from Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, after a short deployment Dec. 17, 2016.

MOSCOW — The Russian military said it scrambled a fighter jet Tuesday to intercept and escort a U.S. strategic bomber flying over the Baltic alongside the Russian border.

Russia's Defense Ministry said Russian radars spotted an aircraft flying along the border and a Su-27 fighter took off to intercept it. It said the Russian pilot identified the plane as a U.S. B-52 bomber and escorted it at a safe distance until it flew further away from the Russian border.

U.S. Lt. Col. David Faggard, a spokesman for U.S. Forces Europe, said the B-52 was conducting a routine mission in international airspace over the Baltic when it was intercepted by the Russian fighter. Such intercepts happen routinely, Faggard said.

The bomber, normally based in Barksdale, Louisiana, is currently stationed at RAF Fairford in Britain in support of NATO exercises.

The B-52 had its transponders on and would have been identifiable to air traffic controllers at the time of the encounter, Faggard said.

In a separate incident, a Russian MiG-31 fighter jet was dispatched Tuesday to intercept a Norwegian maritime surveillance aircraft flying over the Barents Sea near the Russian border, the Russian Defense Ministry said.

Both Russia and NATO routinely scramble their fighters to intercept each other's planes flying over international waters.

In September, a Russian fighter jet flew within 10 feet (3 meters) of a U.S. Navy surveillance aircraft, in what American officials called an unsafe intercept over the Black Sea. In another dramatic incident last year, Russian jets buzzed over the USS Donald Cook in the Baltic Sea, coming within 30 feet of the American warship.

Frank Jordans and David Rising in Berlin contributed to this report. </s> WASHINGTON — A Russian fighter jet intercepted a US bomber over the Baltic Sea in international waters on Tuesday, according to a statement from the Russian Defense Ministry that was published on state news agency TASS.

“On June 6 Russia’s airspace monitoring … identified an air target flying along Russia’s state border over the international waters of the Baltic Sea. A Sukhoi-27 fighter jet of the Baltic Sea Fleet’s air defense force was dispatched to intercept the target,” according to the statement, quoted by TASS.

“The crew of Russia’s Sukhoi-27 jet approached the aircraft staying at a safe distance, identified it as a US strategic bomber B-52 and escorted it for some time,” the report said.

The Pentagon also confirmed that the intercept occurred.

“A US Air Force B-52 Stratofortress flying a routine mission in support of multiple planned exercises in international airspace over the Baltic Sea was intercepted by a Russian SU-27,” according to a statement from Lt. Col. Michelle L. Baldanza, a US Army Defense Department spokeswoman.

“The crew involved is still supporting the exercise. There are a number of intercepts that take place on a regular basis. The vast majority are conducted in a safe manner,” the statement said.

Earlier this month, the US Air Force deployed B-52 bombers and 800 airmen to the United Kingdom in support of joint exercises with NATO allies and partners that are taking place across Europe.

Those scheduled training drills were expected to primarily take place on Russia’s doorstep — specifically in the Baltic Sea, the Arctic and along Russia’s border with several NATO partners.

A Russian MiG-31 fighter jet also intercepted a Norwegian P-3C Orion aircraft on Tuesday in international waters over the Barents Sea, according to a Russian Ministry of Defense statement in a TASS Report.

“The interceptor plane’s crew approached the target at a safe distance and visually identified it as a P-3C Orion anti-submarine warfare patrol aircraft of the Norwegian Air Force. After the Norwegian plane changed its flight route and flew away from the border of the Russian Federation, the MiG-31 fighter jet returned to its home aerodrome,” according to TASS.

Along with the US, Norway is one of the 12 original members of NATO.
The Belgian Air Component informs on Twitter that yesterday, Belgian F-16s operating in the Baltic region for NATO's Baltic Air Policing mission, "intercepted" Russian Flanker jets, allegedly because they had no flight plan.