French Navy Atlantique-2 targeted by Russian S-400 illumination over Baltic Sea

During the night of 15 to 16 January 2025, a French Navy Atlantique 2 maritime patrol aircraft flying in international airspace over the Baltic Sea was locked onto by the fire-control radar of a Russian S-400 ground-to-air defence system. The aircraft was conducting a surveillance mission in support of NATO efforts to protect critical undersea infrastructure in the region, part of the alliance's Baltic Sentry operation launched after a series of suspected attacks on submarine cables. The aircraft remained over international waters throughout, though it operated near the airspace of Russia's Kaliningrad exclave, the likely location of the responsible battery.

On 17 January 2025, French Minister of the Armed Forces Sebastien Lecornu publicly denounced the episode, stating that the aircraft had been the target of Russian intimidation and describing the radar lock as an aggressive Russian action that was unacceptable. Colonel Guillaume Vernet, spokesman for the French armed forces, said that illuminating an aircraft in international waters with fire-control radar is an aggressive action, and that the crew's professional conduct prevented any escalation. Reporting indicated the aircraft may also have been subjected to electronic jamming. France attributed the action to the Russian armed forces and said it would continue to defend freedom of navigation in international air and sea space.

The use of fire-control (target-lock) radar against an aircraft in international airspace is a deliberate, threatening act that simulates the final step before a missile launch, going beyond routine tracking. Attributed by France to Russian forces operating from the Kaliningrad area, the incident fits a broader pattern of Russian harassment of NATO surveillance assets monitoring Baltic undersea infrastructure. The targeting of an unarmed maritime patrol aircraft on a NATO mission carries clear escalation risk, and France framed it as intimidation aimed at deterring Western surveillance flights over the Baltic Sea.