French Rafale fighter jets were scrambled from Šiauliai Air Base in Lithuania to escort Russian aircraft operating in NATO’s area of responsibility over the Baltic Sea.
French Rafale fighter jets, deployed as part of NATO’s Baltic Air Policing mission, intercepted six Russian aircraft during an operation carried out on June 2 in Baltic airspace. The action was reported by the French Armed Forces Joint Staff, which published footage of the mission on social media.
According to the information released, two Rafale jets from the 71st Baltic Air Policing detachment, based in Šiauliai, Lithuania, took off to escort Russian aircraft operating in the Atlantic Alliance’s area of responsibility.
During the mission, French pilots visually identified six Russian aircraft. They included Su-35S, Su-34 and Su-24 fighter jets, an Il-76 military transport aircraft, as well as An-12 and An-30 aircraft used for surveillance and reconnaissance missions.
France currently keeps four two-seat Rafale B fighter jets in Lithuania, operating as part of the NATO mission aimed at protecting the airspace of the Baltic countries. The French detachment is part of the Alliance’s quick reaction alert system, which allows fighter jets to be scrambled within minutes in response to unidentified aircraft or situations considered sensitive.
The Baltic Air Policing mission operates on a permanent basis and is considered one of NATO’s main deterrence measures in the region, especially due to the proximity of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania to Russia. According to the Alliance, Russian military aircraft frequently operate in the region without an active transponder, without a filed flight plan or without proper communication with air traffic control, which can also pose a risk to civil aviation.
Watch the video:
📍Lithuania | Interception of 6 🇷🇺 aircrafts within the Baltic air space 🚨✈️
⚡️ Scramble of two 🇫🇷 Rafale aircraft of the Baltic Air Policing 71 detachment, based in Šiauliai 🇱🇹, in order to escort 🇷🇺 aircrafts operating in the Baltic responsibility area.
👀 Visual… pic.twitter.com/eDMIBB7xBI
— The 🇫🇷 Joint Staff – Military operations (@FrenchForces) June 4, 2026
Source and images: Twitter/X @FrenchForces. This content was created with the help of AI and reviewed by the editorial team.
