British Royal Air Force Typhoon fighter jets operating from Ämari Air Base in Estonia were scrambled June 15 to intercept two unknown contacts transiting north from Kaliningrad towards Estonian and Finnish airspace. The aircraft were intercepted and identified as a Russian Su-30 Flanker fighter and an Ilyushin IL-76 Candid transport aircraft. (British Ministry of Defence)
{"Image ImageDescription": "Image of a Russian SU-30 Flanker fighter and RAF Typhoon fighter flying over the Baltic sea on 15/06/2019. \r\rROYAL Air Force (RAF) Typhoon fighter jets operating from \u00c4mari Air Base in Estonia were scrambled on Saturday 15 June to intercept two unknown contacts transiting north from Kaliningrad towards Estonian and Finnish airspace.  The aircraft were intercepted and identified as a Russian SU-30 Flanker fighter and an Ilyushin IL-76 Candid transport aircraft.\r\rThis is a routine NATO mission for the RAF Typhoons which are operating in the region as part of the Baltic Air Policing Commitment, which provides reassurance to Estonia and other NATO partners through the provision of a Quick Reaction Alert (QRA) capability.  A Typhoon pilot from XI(Fighter) Squadron, attached to 121 Expeditionary Air Wing (EAW), was conducting QRA duty when the scramble was called. He said:\r\r\u201cWe were scrambled to intercept two contacts that were approaching Estonian airspace from the south west.  The contacts had been monitored since they had got airborne from Kaliningrad and our role was to identify them and shadow them as they transited close to NATO airspace.  This is standard protocol for aircraft that might not be communicating with Air Traffic Control or on a recognised flight plan.\r\r\u201cWe escorted the two contacts, a Russian SU-30 Flanker fighter and IL-76 Candid transport aircraft for 15 minutes as they transited in a north and easterly direction back towards mainland Russia.  RAF Typhoons handed over responsibility to two Finnish QRA aircraft, which had also been scrambled as the Russian aircraft operated on the airspace boundary between Estonia and Finland.\u201d\r\rThe RAF is deployed on Operation AZOTIZE in Estonia for four months and this is the eighth QRA scramble and intercept since the RAF took over enhanced Air Policing (eAP) from the German Air Force on 3 May 2019. The UK operates in support of NATO to reassure our allies and is a further demonstration of the UK\u2019s commitment to the security of the region.", "Image Make": "Canon", "Image Model": "Canon PowerShot D30", "Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Image XResolution": "300", "Image YResolution": "300", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image Software": "Adobe Photoshop CC 2019 (Macintosh)", "Image DateTime": "2019:06:15 15:38:17", "Image Artist": "RAF", "Image Copyright": "UK MOD \u00a9 Crown copyright 2019  This image may be used for current news purposes only. It may not be used, reproduced or transmitted for any other purpose.", "Image ExifOffset": "1256", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail XResolution": "72", "Thumbnail YResolution": "72", "Thumbnail ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "1870", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "3921", "EXIF ExposureTime": "1/640", "EXIF FNumber": "24/5", "EXIF ISOSpeedRatings": "100", "EXIF SensitivityType": "Standard Output Sensitivity and Recommended Exposure Index", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0230", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "2019:06:15 12:30:05", "EXIF DateTimeDigitized": "2019:05:31 04:38:43", "EXIF ShutterSpeedValue": "1165241/125000", "EXIF ApertureValue": "4526069/1000000", "EXIF ExposureBiasValue": "0", "EXIF MaxApertureValue": "145/32", "EXIF MeteringMode": "Pattern", "EXIF Flash": "Flash did not fire, auto mode", "EXIF FocalLength": "25", "EXIF ColorSpace": "Uncalibrated", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "4000", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "3000", "EXIF FocalPlaneXResolution": "1000000/61", "EXIF FocalPlaneYResolution": "1000000/61", "EXIF FocalPlaneResolutionUnit": "2", "EXIF SensingMethod": "One-chip color area", "EXIF FileSource": "Digital Camera", "EXIF CustomRendered": "Normal", "EXIF ExposureMode": "Auto Exposure", "EXIF WhiteBalance": "Auto", "EXIF DigitalZoomRatio": "1", "EXIF SceneCaptureType": "Standard", "EXIF LensSpecification": "[5, 25, 0/0, 0/0]", "EXIF LensModel": "5.0-25.0 mm"}