NATO fighter jets repeatedly have to intercept Russian military aircraft over the Baltic Sea. There are no military conflicts yet.
Helsinki – Since the beginning of Russia Ukraine war In February 2022, military aircraft from Russia and the… NATO to each other. Between January 2023 and September 2023 alone, around 200 Russian aircraft are said to have been intercepted by NATO fighter jets over the Baltic Sea.
A NATO employee has now told the US news magazine Newsweek reported. During the same period this year, around 190 Russian military aircraft were intercepted by NATO aircraft over the Baltic Sea.
Fighter jets clash: Baltic Sea since Finland and Sweden joined NATO “Nato Sea”
Since Finland and Sweden joined the transatlantic military alliance, the Baltic Sea has been considered a “NATO lake”. The Russian military has strategic access to the Baltic Sea and the Atlantic beyond in two ways: firstly through the Kaliningrad exclave between Poland and Lithuania; and secondly, through the northern port of St. Petersburg, where the Baltic Fleet of the Russian Navy is stationed.
However, the air exceedances are likely to be due to Kaliningrad’s geographical location. This mainly occurs when Russian military aircraft take part in exercises or fly between the Russian mainland and Kaliningrad. The exclave is small and exceedances are therefore programmed. NATO fighter jets are mainly sent out when aircraft approach close to the airspace and do not use their transponders and without communicating with air traffic control.
Incidents with fighter jets also over the Pacific
There are similar incidents over the Pacific. On July 24, 2024, the North American Aerospace Defense Command (Norad) detected, tracked and intercepted two Russian TU-95 military aircraft and two PRC H-6 aircraft operating in the Alaska Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ). However, the Russian and Chinese aircraft remained in international airspace at the time and did not enter American or Canadian airspace.
On September 23, Norad said four Russian military aircraft were spotted in Alaska’s air defense zone (ADIZ). It was also reported back then that the aircraft remained in international airspace and did not enter sovereign American or Canadian airspace. On the same day, Norad published three photos of interception maneuvers by US Air Force F-16 fighter jets against Russian aircraft on the Pentagon media channel DVIDS. One of the photos shows a single Tu-142 maritime surveillance aircraft being intercepted.
NATO and Norad protect NATO airspace
Norad is a binational command between the USA and Canada. It protects its airspace with a comprehensive defense network consisting of satellites, ground-based and air-based radars and fighter aircraft that can detect and track enemy aircraft. In contrast, NATO has air police missions in five areas in Europe: in the Baltic Sea, in Iceland, on NATO’s eastern flank (Poland, Romania and Bulgaria), in the Benelux countries (Belgium, Netherlands and Luxembourg) and in the eastern Adriatic and in the Western Balkans. (erpe)
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