What happened? A Russian military radar targeted a French naval plane as it flew over the Baltic Sea, off Sweden, tracking ships as part of efforts to monitor suspicious vessels. Specifically, Paris added, the plane was patrolling international airspace when it was blocked by the radar of an S-400 surface-to-air defense system and became “the object of Russian intimidation measures.”
Tensions are rising in the skies over the Baltic Sea, where a French navy plane was targeted by a Russian radar. The plane in question, an Atlantique-2, was carrying out a surveillance mission as part of NATO’s Baltic Sentry operation, in response to alleged damage caused by Moscow to undersea cables in the region. At some point, and without warning, the Paris plane ended up the victim of an “attempted jamming” as well as a “fire control radar detection,” according to a statement from the French military. “This aggressive Russian action is unacceptable, our armed forces will continue to act to defend freedom of navigation in international air and maritime spaces,” said French Defense Minister Sebastien Lecornu.
BALTIC SEA INCIDENT
So what happened? A Russian military radar targeted a French naval plane as it flew over the Baltic Sea, off Sweden, tracking ships as part of efforts to monitor suspicious vessels. Specifically, Paris added, the plane was patrolling international airspace when it was blocked by the radar of an S-400 surface-to-air defense system and became “the object of Russian deterrence measures.” The Atlantique-2 had set off from Brittany and was tasked with inspecting about 200 ships operating in international waters near Sweden and the Baltic states.
During the mission, the plane encountered an electronic jamming and was marked by the control radar, a procedure known in military terms as “lighting”. According to Colonel Guillaume Vernet, spokesman for the General Staff in Paris, this act signals hostility, although it is not unusual in a strategically sensitive region like the Baltic. This type of incident is “quite serious”, is “quite widespread” and “goes far beyond the borders of Europe”, assessed US General Christopher Cavoli, commander of NATO forces in Europe, during a press conference in Brussels.
FRENCH PLANE
The Atlantique 2, designed by Bréguet and Dassault Aviation, is a long-range maritime patrol aircraft, optimized for anti-submarine warfare and other aeronautical missions. With a maximum flight duration of 14 hours and a range of 4,300 nautical miles, the aircraft can be useful for both surveillance and combat needs. Equipped with cutting-edge sensors, it is also equipped with a magnetic anomaly detector, an Iguane radar and a FLIR infrared sensor, which allows the identification of surface targets day and night.
Its armament includes AM39 missiles, MU90 torpedoes and laser-guided bombs. The professionalism of the French crew, Colonel Vernet further explained, was essential in preventing any form of escalation. The Russian radar illumination, as mentioned, was intended to express restrained hostility, but the action stopped short of direct military action. An attack on a NATO aircraft, in fact, would have risked causing a serious and uncontrollable escalation with the entire Atlantic Alliance.
NATO IN READINESS
The Baltic region remains on high alert after a series of power outages and disruptions to telecom and gas infrastructure since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Recall that, in late December, NATO had decided to strengthen its presence in the Baltic Sea after the suspected sabotage of an undersea power cable and four internet cables. The damage to the undersea cables has had a direct impact on international communications and has caused delays in the flow of data for several countries. For this reason, NATO took measures to increase surveillance and ensure the continuity of operations in this strategic region.
