Three Russian MiG-31s violate Estonian airspace (~12 min)

On the morning of 19 September 2025, three Russian MiG-31 fighter jets crossed into Estonian airspace over the Gulf of Finland in the area of Vaindloo island, a small islet in the Baltic Sea. According to Estonian authorities, the aircraft remained in Estonian airspace for about 12 minutes, between roughly 09:58 and 10:11 local time. Estonian officials said the jets were flying without filed flight plans and with their transponders switched off, and were not in radio contact with air traffic control.

NATO aircraft on the Baltic Air Policing mission responded. Italian Air Force F-35s were scrambled to intercept and escort the Russian jets out of Estonian airspace. Estonia summoned the Russian charge d'affaires and handed over a protest note, and Prime Minister Kristen Michal said Tallinn would request consultations under Article 4 of the North Atlantic Treaty. NATO described the event as one of several recent violations and condemned it as part of a pattern of irresponsible Russian behaviour. Russia's defence ministry denied violating Estonian airspace, stating its MiG-31s were flying over neutral waters of the Baltic Sea en route to Kaliningrad. Estonia said it was the fourth Russian airspace violation of 2025.

This was among the most serious airspace incidents of the 2025 series, involving three armed military jets and an unusually long incursion of about 12 minutes, prompting Estonia's request for Article 4 consultations. The absence of flight plans, active transponders and radio contact, as reported by Estonia, points to a deliberate act rather than a navigational error, though Russia's denial cannot be independently disproven from open sources. Coming amid related incursions affecting Poland and other allies, the episode fits a broader pattern of testing NATO's eastern flank and air-defence readiness. Reporting reflects Estonian and NATO accounts; Russian intent remains a matter of inference.