Brazen Baltic Sky Showdown: Estonia Accuses Russia of Reckless Airspace Violation, Triggers NATO Alarm
Estonia Confronts a “Brazen” Airspace Violation Estonia is accusing Russia of a deliberate and unprecedented breach of its sovereign airspace in a flare-up that has heightened tensions in the Baltics. On September 19, Estonian radars detected three Russian MiG-31 Foxhound interceptor jets crossing into Estonian territory near Vaindloo Island, a small islet in the Gulf of Finland near the Russian border. According to Estonia’s military, the high-speed jets penetrated about 5 nautical miles (9 km) into Estonian airspace and remained inside for around 12 minutes before turning back reuters.com reuters.com. During the incursion, the Russian planes had no flight plans filed,
