Tuesday, December 28, 2021
Fewer Russia-related flights
A NATO alarm start every day
For more than six years now, dozens of NATO aircraft have been stationed in the region at the request of the Baltic countries. These have soared hundreds of times since January to identify aircraft. Mostly they were Russian military machines.
NATO combat aircraft have already carried out around 370 alarm launches in Europe this year. 290 of the missions were about the identification and surveillance of Russian aircraft, as the defense alliance announced. Most of the planes were intercepted in the Baltic States. These missions usually happened without incident. NATO aircraft merely escorted the affected aircraft out of the area. Very few aircraft have entered NATO airspace. Compared to 2020, the number of Russia-related alarm starts decreased in 2021; at that time it was around 350.
When an alarm goes off, fighters from NATO countries must be in the air within a few minutes, for example by visual contact to determine whether a suspicious aircraft poses a threat. If necessary, this could then be stopped by force. The missions are in most cases flown because of Russian planes. Only rarely are military aircraft from other countries or not immediately identifiable passenger or cargo aircraft involved.
The Bundeswehr is regularly involved in the surveillance of Russian aircraft as part of NATO’s increased “air policing” in the Baltic States. According to the Bundeswehr, there are currently up to six German Eurofighter aircraft available for this purpose.
The airspace surveillance in the Baltic States was strengthened in 2014 after the beginning of the Ukraine conflict – especially at the request of the Eastern allies Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia. In total, more than 60 NATO fighter jets are currently ready for action, NATO announced.