MiG-29 scramble takeoff

On the night of 15 June, two MiG-29 fighter aircraft on Quick Reaction Alert (QRA) were scrambled in response to an air incident as part of the NATO Integrated Air and Missile Defence System (NATINAMDS), after air traffic controllers (ATCs) had lost communications with a Boeing 737-8 airliner, operated by SunExpress Deutschland GmbH, over the Slovak territory. The QRA pilots of Air Base Sliač, received orders for a scramble takeoff from the Multinational Air Operations Centre. The two-ship formation of the MiG-29 fighters intercepted and safely escorted it to the Czech Republic, where the airliner pilots succeeded in restoring radio communications and established communications with the local Air Operations Centre. One of the reasons most often cited for launching SVK AF QRA aircraft to intercept planes is “loss of communications”. This is the fourth such scramble this year.