Details have become known about the intercepted Turkish F-16 aircraft. It turned out to be a Russian Il-38. Turkey says about the "safe execution of the task", Russia-that a Turkish fighter armed with missiles approached the Il-38 at a "dangerous distance". There has been a turning point in the confrontation between Russia and NATO, Haber7 notes.
Details have become known about the plane intercepted by a Turkish F-16 and designated in an official statement as "unknown". Photos of a Turkish fighter jet that was ordered to take off in an emergency were published on Twitter.
There has been a turning point in the confrontation between Russia and NATO, which is taking place everywhere, from the Mediterranean Sea to the Baltic Sea, from the Black Sea to the Pacific Ocean.
On Tuesday, July 20, Turkish F-16s that went to Poland as part of the NATO mission landed at the Malbork air base. Shortly after, Turkish warplanes were ordered to take to the air urgently.
The Turkish Ministry of National Defense made a statement on its Twitter page: "Two of our F-16 aircraft, stationed at the Malbork Air Base in Poland as part of the enhanced NATO air patrol mission, safely completed their first task of responding to an alarm in the Baltic Sea region."
The reason why the Turkish planes took to the air urgently became known. Russian media reports that one of the Turkish F-16 intercepted a Russian anti-submarine aircraft Il-38.
It is noted that the Turkish and Russian planes met in the airspace of Poland. One media outlet close to the Russian Defense Ministry reported that an F-16 armed with missiles approached the Il-38 at a dangerous distance.
Meanwhile, the NATO Twitter account announced that the Turkish F-16s that took off from the Malbork Air Base performed their first interception, while the intercepted vessel was designated as "unknown".
Four Turkish F-16s stationed in Poland will remain in this Eastern European country until mid-September. Previously, Spanish aircraft served in Lithuania in the region, and Italian aircraft served in Estonia.
Russia is particularly concerned about the acquisition by Ukraine and Poland of Bayraktar TB2 attack unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) from Turkey. Poland will soon have 24 such UAVs.
And Ukraine, which is opposing Russia in the Crimea and the Donbas, is currently already using Bayraktar TB2 purchased from Turkey. Russian media have repeatedly written about the flights of attack UAVs in the Crimea region.
