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Jets scrambled: an F-16 fighter jet takes off from the military airbase in Europe. Photo: AFP <\/p>\n
Brussels: NATO and Swedish fighter jets were scrambled to intercept a Russian intelligence-gathering plane that briefly entered Estonian airspace on Tuesday, the alliance said on Wednesday. <\/p>\n
The Estonian Foreign Ministry called the Russian ambassador to the ministry and gave him a protest note over the incursion, the Estonian defence forces said. <\/p>\n
Fighters from Denmark as well as Portuguese F-16s from NATO's air policing mission in the Baltics took off after radar detected an unidentified aircraft flying close to NATO airspace in the Baltic Sea, NATO said. <\/p>\n
The plane was identified as a Russian IL-20 intelligence-gathering aircraft that had taken off from Russia's Baltic enclave of Kaliningrad, heading towards Denmark. <\/p>\n
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The Russian aircraft was first intercepted by Danish F-16s and later, as it headed further north, by fighters from Sweden, which is not a NATO member. <\/p>\n
The Russian aircraft turned south again, entering Estonian airspace for less than one minute, a NATO statement said. <\/p>\n
Portuguese F-16s, which had been scrambled from their base in Lithuania, escorted the Russian plane away from NATO airspace. <\/p>\n
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NATO, Swedish fighters scrambled to intercept Russian intelligence-gathering plane<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" World Jets scrambled: an F-16 fighter jet takes off from the military airbase in Europe. Photo: AFP Brussels: NATO and Swedish fighter jets were scrambled to intercept a Russian intelligence-gathering plane that briefly entered Estonian airspace on Tuesday, the alliance said on Wednesday Continue reading