Rafales scoot to intercept ‘Coot’
February 20, 2025
On 17 February 2025, the French Armed Forces released photos and video of a pair of Armée de l’Air et de l’Éspace Rafales escorting a Russian Ilyushin Il-20M ‘Coot-A’ reconnaissance aircraft flying close to NATO airspace.
The Armée de l’Air deployed Rafale fighters to Šiauliai for Baltic Air Policing on 28 November 2024, marking the twelfth time that the French Air and Space Force has deployed to the Baltic since 2007, making France a notably staunch supporter of the enduring collective mission.
Major Mathieu Encatassamy, the French Rafale Detachment Commander said that: “It’s a great pleasure for us to participate in this collective mission as a NATO nation. The integrity of the Baltic Sea area is important for European sovereignty, that’s why France has been contributing regularly to its protection.”
Effective from 1 December 2024, the French Air Force augmented an Italian Eurofighter detachment. The addition of a second detachment at Šiauliai allows for more flexible operational planning of NATO Air Policing in the region. The deployed air forces benefit from additional opportunities to conduct training with other regional air, ground, naval and special forces and to practice Agile Combat Employment to other bases. This further enhances the skills, interoperability and resilience of the air forces involved.
Lieutenant General Thorsten Poschwatta, the Commander of NATO’s Combined Air Operations Centre at Uedem, Germany said that: “For over 20 years, handing over the key to the Baltic Airspace has been the symbol of what this Alliance represents: the strong collective will to combine efforts and assets to defend our common values, to display our commitment to security and to show durable and reliable cohesion. All this is required more than ever in times when we have to stand together, protect our people and territory and help our partners to defend freedom in Europe,” he added.
