Aviation
Military /
Europe
Unprecedented interception
The Russian Su-30SM's first encounter with the Italian F-35A
Su-30SM
AMCXXL, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Gabriela Ramos
6/15/2021
In the Baltic Sea region, a Russian Sukhoi Su-30SM and two Italian F-35A Lightning IIs met, according to a record posted by @fighter_bomber_ Instagram profile.
In the publication, two videos and a photo show the Russian aircraft flying alongside the two Italian aircraft, near Estonia. In this region, the QRA (Rapid Reaction Alert) task takes place, in which Italian stealth fighters participate, in support of NATO's air policing mission in the Baltic.
In the video (link at the end of the article), it is possible to see the two aircraft of the Italian Air Force approaching another aircraft, which appears to be an An-12, which, escorted by a Su-30SM, would probably be flying with origin or destination in Kaliningrad. On May 14, an An-12 was previously intercepted by Italian fighters.
The Italian fighters are from the 13th Squadron of the 32nd Wing Air Base and Amendola, in Southeastern Italy. Amendola Air Base was the first military unit to receive the F-35A in 2016 and was also the first in Europe to receive, in 2018, the certification to operate, the IOC (Initial Operational Capability).
On April 30 of this year, Italian fighters arrived in Estonia, reaching two important milestones: the first time that Italian stealth excels in the Baltic and the first time that fifth-generation fighters support NATO's mission in the region.
A detail that drew attention was the fact that the An-12 was being escorted by a Flanker, as it does not seem common for this fighter to escort a simple transport aircraft, unless it was a variant of the “Cub's special mission” ”, or that Russia knew that the F-35s would be there and wanted to promote the meeting.
F-35A
Bidgee, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Hyperlinks:
https://www.instagram.com/p/CP...
Gabriela Ramos
Gabriela is the latest addition to the editorial team of our website, having provided us with her solid background in editing, publishing and photography, and her interest and training in aviation history and historiography. His good taste and common sense and great cleverness and sagacity in the selection of themes and materials greatly enriched our vocabulary and narrative style. Gabriela brought unusual predicates and came to stay, helping to point the way of success of our portal.
   
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