Un Atlantic 2 maritime patrol plane of the French Navy flying over the Baltic Sea was “illuminated” by the fire control radar of a Russian S400 surface-to-air defense system on the night of Wednesday 15 to Thursday January 16. The plane was “the target of Russian intimidation measures”, denounced the Minister of the Armed Forces Sébastien Lecornu on X, adding that “this aggressive Russian action is not acceptable”.
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-In military jargon, illumination is the targeting of an air or naval target. This is the last step before making a shot. Here, in this case, it was a battery of S400s, the latest in Russian surface-to-air defense systems, which targeted the French plane, then flying in international airspace. The battery was to be positioned in the Kaliningrad enclave, wedged between Lithuania and Poland. Last December, a German army helicopter was targeted by signaling munitions from a Russian ship.
Operation Baltic Sentry to monitor submarine cables
Within the framework of NATO, several countries in the region have decided to intensify surveillance of the Baltic Sea after several alleged acts of sabotage targeting submarine cables. Last November, two cables were damaged in quick succession by a Chinese ship. Then in December, five other cables were cut by a ship that Finland accuses of being part of the Russian ghost fleet.
Launched on January 14, Operation Baltic Sentry incorporates warships, submarines and aircraft to monitor the cables. With a long range and great autonomy (14 hours of flight), the French Atlantic 2 maritime patrol aircraft is ideal for this type of mission. Initially dedicated to anti-submarine warfare, it can carry missiles, bombs, torpedoes and sonobuoys. With its crew of 13 people, it is used here to spot suspicious ships, as well as submarines using its electronic warfare equipment.
The alleged sabotage of submarine cables is an integral part of the hybrid warfare conceptualized by Russia. Through indirect actions and by remaining below the threshold of military escalation, hybrid warfare attacks the weak points of European democracies. Fake news campaign targeting the organization of the Olympic Games, Stars of David sprayed on the streets of Paris, exploitation of the migration crisis by sending migrants to the Polish border… Now, the destruction of electrical cables or underwater Internet powering the Scandinavian countries is the latest action to date.
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