Midas intercepted by German Air Force

On 3 February 2021, Luftwaffe (GAF, German Air Force) Typhoons intercepted a Russian Federation - Aerospace Forces (RF VKS, Russian Air Force) Ilyushin Il-78M Midas, serial RF-94269/30 Blue (constuction number 0093498959), during a Baltic Air Policy mission.

Currently, the Taktisches Luftwaffengeschwader 74 (TLG74) is temporary based at Ämari Air Base (Estonia) for NATO's Baltic Air Policing (BAP) missions with six Eurofighter Typhoons.

In January 2021, TLG74 took over the responsibilty from Taktisches Luftwaffengeschwader 71 Richthofen (TLG71). The TLG74 BAP mission will end in May 2021.

Within the Alliance, preserving airspace integrity is conducted as a collective task jointly and collectively using fighter aircraft for Air Policing. These missions are purely defensive.

Since March 2004, when the Baltic States joined NATO, the 24/7 task of policing the airspace of the Baltic States was conducted on a three-month rotation. In 2014, the rotations changed to a four-month basis.

Photos: Luftwaffe