Il-20 reconnaissance aircraft
Coverage of Il-20 reconnaissance aircraft in the Nexus archive.
- Polish F-16s Intercept Russian Il-20 Plane Over Baltic Sea
Two Polish F-16 fighter jets intercepted a Russian Il-20 reconnaissance aircraft over the Baltic Sea approximately 40 kilometers north of Kołobrzeg on July 31. The aircraft was flying without a flight plan and with its transponder deactivated, remaining in international airspace. A Russian Kh-101 cruise missile entered Polish airspace the previous day, crashing near Tarnawa-Kolonia, and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte condemned the incursion.
- In Baltic skies, NATO and Russian pilots size each other up warily but without a tilt into war
NATO and Russian pilots conduct tense but non-confrontational aerial encounters in Baltic airspace, with French and Romanian detachments intercepting Russian reconnaissance aircraft and bombers. The missions aim to deter escalation amid heightened tensions over Russia's invasion of Ukraine, while avoiding direct conflict.