A French Atlantique 2 maritime patrol aircraft, which was patrolling international airspace over the Baltic Sea as part of a NATO operation, was at the receiving end of Russian aggression recently.
Sébastien Lecornu, Minister for the Armed Forces of France, in a recent tweet, said on the night of Wednesday to Thursday, a French Atlantique 2 maritime patrol aircraft was the target of Russian intimidation measures. The patrol aircraft was illuminated by the fire control radar of an S400 ground-to-air defence system.
S-400 Triumf, also known by its NATO reporting name SA-21 Growler, is a mobile surface-to-air missile (SAM) system developed by Russia.
The minister said this aggressive Russian action is unacceptable and added, "Our armies will continue to act to defend freedom of navigation in international air and maritime spaces."
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The incident happened in a strategically significant region where Russian and NATO assets closely watch each others' moves.
Col. Guillaume Vernet, a spokesperson for the French Armed Forces, has been quoted as saying, “Illuminating our aircraft in international waters with radar is an aggressive action."
The professional attitude of the crew prevented any escalation, he added, according to defence website The Warzone.
Media reports also suggest that the aircraft was also jammed.
The Russian action comes even as NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte recently observed that there is an increase in Russia's hostile actions against NATO member countries.