Poland Scrambles Jets for Second Time in a Week to Intercept Russian Il-20 Over Baltic

Polish fighter jets intercepted a Russian Ilyushin Il-20 reconnaissance aircraft over the Baltic Sea, the second such interception in roughly a week amid recurring Russian aerial activity near Poland’s coast.

The Il-20 was detected about 40 kilometers north of Ustka, on Poland’s Baltic shore, flying with its identification transponders switched off. That mode prevents civilian air-traffic controllers from tracking it and increases the danger of an unsafe encounter with commercial aircraft in the busy Baltic corridor. The Russian plane did not enter Polish airspace, but Polish fighters were scrambled as a precautionary air-policing measure.

The latest incident follows a similar interception on 31 August, when another Russian aircraft flew about 30 kilometers north of Łeba, and comes after several Russian military approaches toward Polish airspace in late July and early August. Polish Defence Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz described the earlier episode as a test of Poland’s defense and air-defense systems. The repeated flights have reinforced concerns over Russian signals-intelligence activity near NATO territory.