On 25 January, fighter aircraft conducting the NATO Air Policing Mission in the Baltic states were scrambled to intercept two IL-96 and two SU-30SM aircraft. The IL-96s were flying to Kaliningrad from the mainland of the Russian Federation, according to pre-filed flight plans, with onboard transponders switched on, maintaining radio communication with the regional air traffic control centre.
The two SU-30SM aircraft flew out into the international airspace from mainland Russia and then returned. They had no pre-filed flight plans, the onboard transponders were switched off and the crews were not maintaining radio communication with the regional air traffic control centre.
Also on 25 January, the NATO fighter jets were scrambled to intercept one IL-96 and two SU-27. The IL-96 was flying from Kaliningrad to mainland Russia according to a pre-filed flight plan, with its onboard transponder switched on and maintaining radio communication with the regional air traffic control centre, while the two SU-27 flew into the international airspace from Kaliningrad and then returned without having pre-filed the flight plans, with their onboard transponders off, not maintaining radio communication with the regional air traffic control centre.
