French warplanes were scrambled 11 times between May 28 and June 4, 2023, to intercept Russian military aircraft flying in the Baltic airspace as part of NATO's Baltic Air Policing Mission [1, 2].
The aircraft intercepted included armed fighter jets, intelligence planes, and transport aircraft. Most flew without filed flight plans or radio contact with air traffic control, according to France's armed forces spokesperson Guillaume Vernet. Vernet said, "The French detachment deployed on the Baltic Air Policing mission carried out multiple interceptions of Russian military aircraft flying without flight plans or radio contact" [1]. He added the intercepted Russian aircraft were diverse in type, including "武裝戰鬥機、情報偵察機及運輸機，且多數在飛行時未提交飛行計畫，也未與地面管制台保持無線電聯繫" [2].
The Baltic Air Policing Mission protects the airspace of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. NATO fills gaps in those countries' air defense with rotating deployments of fighter jets, according to mission details [1, 2].
The unusually high frequency of Russian air incursions in this period may be intended as a show of force by Moscow. Vernet noted, "這可能是莫斯科當局刻意在「聖彼得堡國際經濟論壇」舉辦期間，藉由軍事行動向西方國家展示武力" [2]. The St Petersburg International Economic Forum took place during this time.
There are also reports of military drones straying into the airspace of Finland and the Baltic states. These intrusions have raised concerns about the potential spillover of the Ukraine war into NATO's northern borders, officials said [1, 2].
The French deployments and interceptions underscore heightened tensions in the Baltic region. NATO is expected to maintain its Baltic Air Policing rotations as the security situation remains dynamic [1, 2].
