Sweden, NATO report Russian military planes over Baltic Sea

The Swedish Air Force and NATO jets on Tuesday tracked two Russian Tu-22M3 and two Su-27 aircraft flying with their transponders turned off over the Baltic Sea.
NATO scrambled Danish jets and Italian jets based in Lithuania early Tuesday to identify the Russian aircraft which were heading to the Russian Baltic exclave of Kaliningrad.
The Russian military aircraft did not use their onboard transponder; they were not in contact with civilian Air Traffic Control and they were not on a pre-filed flight plan.
Swedish Foreign Minister said it was "unacceptable" for the Russian planes to be flying with shut-off transponders that are necessary for identifying aircraft on radar, calling it violation of international aviation rules.
NATO and Sweden, have reported an increase in Russian air maneuvers over the Baltic Sea in recent years.
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