NATO intercepts Russian jets near Poland in heightened tensions

NATO Command released a recording of the interception of Russian aircraft over the Baltic Sea on the platform X on 1 March 2024. The Alliance deployed French Mirage 2000-5 fighters, which carried out a mission related to the appearance of Russian Su-30M aircraft north of Poland – machines that have been participating in combat since the beginning of the war in Ukraine. The An-72 – a Soviet transport aircraft with a unique design – was also intercepted over the Baltic.

The French Dassault Mirage 2000 fighters involved in the action date back to 1983. Over the years, the aircraft have undergone numerous upgrades and improvements, one of which is the version shown in NATO's video. Marked as the 2000-5 model, it is characterized among its predecessors by the presence of new avionics based on the multi-band RDY radar.

In addition, French machines are equipped with air-to-air MICA missiles and five monitors in the cockpit for managing missions in the air. The range of this type of weapon is at nearly 3,500 km (about 2,175 miles), and their ceiling exceeds 17,000 metres (about 56,000 feet).

The aircraft visible in the recording belonging to the Russian Federation are – as mentioned before – Su-30 and An-72. The former are popular but at the same time highly effective, multi-role combat planes, which have repeatedly appeared over Ukraine. According to the "The Military Balance 2022" report, the Russians had almost 100 fighters of this type in 2022.

Recently, Su-30s were observed at the occupied Saki airfield, where the aggressor army had gathered about 10 of these aircraft. At that time, it could be a show of Russian power – particularly in light of the successful attack earlier on the mentioned airfield, which exposed problems with Russian air defense.

Let us remind that Su-30s (also known as Flanker-C in NATO code) reach a speed of about 1.8 Mach and can operate at a ceiling up to 17,500 metres (approximately 57,415 feet). The standard armament of this aircraft is the GSz-30-1 cannon calibre 30 mm, but additionally, various types of missiles (e.g., Ch-59 weighing around 800 kg) or bombs (e.g., from the KAB, OFAB, RBK family) can be found on the armament nodes.

The third machine intercepted by NATO is, in turn, Antonov An-72, which is generally rarely seen over Ukraine. However, this results from its purpose. It is a transport aircraft, which is used to carry a load of up to 10,000 kg and 52 passengers (or 68 in the case of an additional seating arrangement). The machine is therefore likely used for domestic flights and deploying troops and light military equipment at a safe distance from the front.

Worthy of note in this aircraft, however, are the over-wing engines, which produce the Coanda effect. In short, thanks to this, the power units increase the lift of An-72. The mentioned phenomenon is based on the adherence of the gas stream to the nearest surface it encounters on its path. The Coanda effect is applied in aviation equipment, including in aircraft such as the Boeing YC-14 (the first modern model to utilize this phenomenon) as well as McDonnell Douglas YC-15 and Boeing C-17 Globemaster III (to a lesser extent).

An-72 can accelerate to speeds of 700 km/h (approximately 435 mph), while its range exceeds 4,300 km (about 2,672 miles). The power unit based on two Progress D-36 engines guarantees a thrust of 63.9 kN each. The length of this construction from the late 1970s is just over 28 metres (about 91 feet), and the wingspan of An-72 reaches almost 32 metres (about 105 feet).