This included the escort of the three planes, MiG-31 interceptors, all the way to the Kaliningrad exclave to the south, by Italian Air Force F-35s.

"Russian planes were detected on radar from long range, Finnish fighters went to identify them, escorted them, [then] in Estonian airspace, the Italian fighters on alert here took over, escorted them, directed them out of Estonian airspace, all the way to Kaliningrad, to the end of their journey," said Tarien, now head of business development at drone manufacturer Lendurai.

As to why the Russian planes lingered so long in Estonian airspace, Tarien said force is not immediately used during peacetime, to avoid errors.

"The assumption is always that there might be a mistake. It is also possible to direct planes out of here without using force. Certainly, this time the Russian side did this deliberately; they tested NATO's boundaries, though I think it is a better solution for everyone that real kinetic force was not used, and this incident was resolved without anyone being fired at or killed," he went on.

Tarien also rejected claims that no conflict followed the 2015 downing of a Russian jet by Turkish air force planes.

"First of all: Turkey acted according to its national procedures, then afterwards they had a major dispute with Russia for several years, which ended with Turkey buying an air defense system from Russia and being forced to leave the F-35 program," he said, referring to an incident during the Syrian Civil War, when Russian jets repeatedly strayed into Turkish airspace.

The issue has remained for decades now that Russian military planes lack transponders that meet international standards.

"This helps to show who you are, where you are, what your flight plan is," he said, noting that these are a requirement in civil aviation and best practice for military planes.

Whether entering Estonian airspace could have endangered civilian flights is hard to say, Tarien said, adding this was precisely why Italian aircraft were escorting the Russian planes. "They ensured that it would not become dangerous."

Tarien also dismissed as "internet fairy tales" claims that the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning IIs used by the Italian Air Force were significantly slower than the Russian MiGs.

"If Russian aircraft had used their maximum speeds, then pursuing and escorting them would have been pointless anyway, as going supersonic already assumes hostile intent, and other methods are used," he explained.

Tarien could not comment on exactly which airspace violation conditions should be followed by intervention, though in theory a different reaction could be expected, for instance, if the aircraft carried air-to-ground weapons and was heading toward a specific target, he added.

Russia's activity over the last week in repeatedly violating the airspace of different countries demonstrates that Russia is becoming increasingly desperate and has major difficulties in achieving its goals in Ukraine, meaning such incursions are a smoke screen to draw attention away from that.

He listed a failed summer offensive in Ukraine and economic woes arising from Ukrainian drone strikes on oil refineries, wells and exporting ports as the main difficulties Russia faces. "Russia is trying to do everything to divide NATO allies, to create internal tensions, to bring out contradictions. Our task is to preserve peace," he said.

Tarien had earlier told the newspaper Postimees why Vaindloo is the regular site of incursions by Russian planes. Friday's incident was the fourth this year, though by far the longest in duration at 12 minutes.

This is mainly due to a hangover from the Soviet era, which has led to Tallinn and St. Petersburg's Flight Information Regions (FIR) not aligning with national borders. This places a chunk of Estonian airspace around Vaindloo in St. Petersburg's FIR, in the Russian understanding of things.

Trying to iron out this anomaly has resulted in Estonian authorities hitting a brick wall for over 20 years, he went on.

Estonia requested Article 4 discussions about the incursion with NATO allies, the second time this has happened in the past week and a half after Poland did so following the large-scale Russian drone incursion.

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