Since early August, Italian Air Force (Aeronautica Militare) F-35A fighters have been deployed in Estonia to carry out Air Policing missions in the Baltic region. Just days after the formal start of the deployment, the Italian fifth-generation stealth jets conducted their first interception of fighters and combat aircraft from the Russian Navy’s Naval Aviation.
Officially launched on August 1, Operation Baltic Eagle III involves the deployment of an Italian Air Force F-35A stealth fighter detachment, along with a support unit, which will operate for the coming months from Ämari Air Base. Upon formally assuming the mission earlier this month, the Italian detachment took over from their Portuguese counterparts, who had conducted Air Policing duties in the region using their F-16M fighters.
On that occasion, Italian Defense Minister Guido Crosetto stated: “Italy’s assumption of command of the NATO Baltic Air Policing mission confirms the Defense Ministry’s strategic commitment to collective security on the Alliance’s eastern flank, a tangible contribution to deterrence and the defense of Euro-Atlantic borders. The start of Operation Baltic Eagle III is another sign of the professionalism and reliability our Armed Forces continue to demonstrate within NATO. I wish great success to the men and women of the Aeronautica Militare deployed in Ämari in their work.”
This new Baltic deployment marks the third time Italian Air Force combat aircraft and personnel have been stationed in Estonia, following previous rotations in 2018 and 2021. During this mission, the stealth fighters of the 32nd Wing’s Task Force Air will conduct “…patrolling and aerial interception operations under the coordination of the Combined Air Operations Centre (CAOC) in Uedem, Germany.”
In the most recent incident confirmed by NATO’s Air Command, the Italian F-35s intercepted Russian Armed Forces combat aircraft over international airspace.
While few details were released, images show a Sukhoi Su-24 Fencer, likely in its reconnaissance variant, and a Sukhoi Su-33 fighter—both belonging to the Russian Navy’s Naval Aviation. The Su-33, armed with R-27 and R-73 air-to-air missiles, is assigned to the 279th Independent Shipborne Fighter Aviation Regiment (OKIAP) of the Northern Fleet.
As reported, such encounters between NATO aircraft and those of the Russian Armed Forces are routine in the Baltic region. For the Italian Air Force, this incident adds to others recorded last year, when Eurofighter jets operating from Šiauliai Air Base in Lithuania intercepted a Russian Aerospace Forces MiG-31 aircraft.
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