Moscow’s air force shows presence
Russian bombers ensure alarm starts in the west
08/14/2023 7:56 p.m
Moscow is flexing its muscles. Several Russian military planes fly over international waters during the day. In Great Britain, Denmark and the Netherlands there are then alarm starts.
According to Moscow, the Russian Air Force has completed several “planned flights” over international waters. According to the Defense Ministry, strategic bombers and fighters were deployed over the Baltic Sea, the Barents Sea, the Norwegian Seas, the Beaufort Sea and the Chukchi Sea.
The presence of the Russian machines caused alarms to be raised in several western countries. According to the British MoD, two British Typhoon multi-fighter aircraft took off in the morning to escort two Russian Tupolev TU-142 maritime patrol aircraft near the Shetland Islands. Fighter jets took off in the Netherlands to spot two TU-95 bombers over the North Sea.
The Danish Air Force also became active. As the Ministry of Defense in Copenhagen announced on request, F-16 machines were able to identify Russian aircraft in international airspace over the North Sea.
A spokesman emphasized that there was no violation of Danish airspace. The term “interception”, as it appeared in media reports, is “too harsh” in this case, he said. Similar incidents have happened frequently, and Russian planes have the right to be in international airspace. He could not say how many Russian planes there were and what type they were.
incidents accumulated
Meanwhile, the Russian Air Force reported intercepting a Norwegian reconnaissance plane near its own borders. The Boeing P-8A Poseidon aircraft was approaching the Russian border in the airspace over the Barents Sea, the Defense Ministry said in Moscow. The Norwegian aviator turned back after the appearance of a Russian fighter plane. “No violation of the borders of the Russian Federation” was allowed.
The interception was carried out in accordance with international rules. The trajectories of the machines had not crossed, nor had there been any dangerous convergences. In aviation, interception is understood as the escorting of aircraft that are approaching or penetrating the airspace of a foreign country without authorization.
In recent years, even before the Ukraine conflict, incidents between aircraft from NATO countries and aviators from Russia had increased. Most of them happened over the Baltic Sea, but such incidents also occurred over the Black Sea and other waters.