Atlantique 2 Targeted By S-400 Aiming Radar Over Baltic
On the night of 15-16 January, a French Atlantique 2 maritime patrol aircraft was illuminated and locked on by a S-400 anti-air system aiming radar over the Baltic Sea. The incident marks increased Russian hostility amid the ongoing War in Ukraine towards NATO member-states who routinely conduct air operations in the international space over the Baltic Sea.
Sebastien Lecornu, French Minister of Armed Forces, said:
“On Wednesday night, a French Atlantique 2 maritime patrol aircraft was the target of Russian intimidation. It was patrolling in international airspace over the Baltic Sea as part of a NATO operation and was locked by the fire-control radar of an S-400 air defense system. This aggressive Russian action is unacceptable. Our armed forces will continue to act to defend freedom of navigation in international air and sea spaces.”
The French aircraft took off from its home base of Lann-Bihoué in Brittany, France on Wednesday and spent five hours off the coast of Sweden and Baltic countries before its return. The plane was most likely conducting routine surveillance operations over the Baltic Sea. Russia’s unprovoked response forced the aircraft to leave its station.
The Atlantique 2 has been in service since the mid 1960 and has undergone several retrofits. An ongoing refit program is expected to conclude this year. 18 out of the 22 Atlantique Standard 5 operated by the French Navy are upgraded to the new version called ‘Standard 6’. The upgrade should allow the aircraft to operate until 2035.It includes the development of a new combat system called ‘Logiciel de traitement de l’information operationelle nouvelle génération’ (LOTI-NG). The system is used to establish a tactical picture based on data gathered by the aircraft’s various sensors. Another major improvement is the upgrade to the acoustic subsystem called ‘Sous-système de traitement acoustique numérique’ (STAN). This system can operate more sonobuoys than its predecessor and scan a broader range of frequencies. The system can also operate the most recent US sonobuoys including the multistatic mode. The Wescam MX-20 electro-optical (EO) turret has also been integrated (the same one used on board the Boeing P-8A Poseidon).
For the last month, the airspace over the Baltic Sea was crowded with NATO surveillance aircraft including USAF RC-135 Rivet Joint conducting SIGINT operations over the Kaliningrad Region. However, for the first time since the outbreak of war between Russia and Ukraine in February 2022, it has been reported that such aggressive action was taken by the Russian ground based air defense. This action marks escalation over the Baltic Sea and is a disturbing sign of the short temper of forces stationed in the Russian exclave.