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For several months, a detachment of the Italian Air Force (Aeronáutica Militare) has been operating from the Šiauliai Air Base in Lithuania as part of the reinforcement of NATO’s military presence in the Baltic region. The Italian presence includes Eurofighter jets, which relieved the unit of the Spanish Air and Space Force detachment.
In addition, the Italian presence in the region is complemented by Eurofighter jets from the German Air Force (Luftwaffe), operating from Latvia and also participating in quick reaction alert (QRA) missions, intercepting Russian aircraft. Furthermore, Spanish Air Force F-18 Hornets are stationed in Romania, conducting similar missions in the Black Sea region, operating from the Kogălniceanu Air Base.
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Regarding Italian operations, NATO’s Air Command has reported increased activity from Russian military aircraft in recent weeks, leading to a rise in Italian jet missions. On one occasion, three sorties were carried out in less than 24 hours.
Although not many details have been provided, in one of these incidents, Italian Eurofighters intercepted a MiG-31 from the Russian Aerospace Forces in international airspace over the Baltic Sea. These incidents occur when Russian aircraft conduct flights without a flight plan or fail to follow it, as well as flying with transponders off, which triggers alarms in NATO Control and Surveillance Centers and activates interception protocols.