Russian Activity Remains High on NATO's Eastern Border | Aviation International News

Russian Activity Remains High on NATO's Eastern Border

NATO's Baltic Air Policing operation was augmented following Russia's occupation of Crimea and remains highly active.

Typhoons from the Luftwaffe's Jagdgeschwader 74 are currently deployed at Amari in Estonia. They have encountered a variety of Russian hardware, including the Sukhoi Su-35 and, as here, the Tupolev Tu-160 "Blackjack" strategic bomber. (Photo: JG 74)

November 29, 2018

NATO fighters remain busy in the Baltic, responding to provocative Russian air force flights that “cut the corner,” clipping NATO airspace as they transit to and from the Kaliningrad Oblast enclave, or as they exercise in the Baltic.

To illustrate the high levels of recent Russian activity, live “Alpha” scrambles by NATO QRA (Quick Reaction Alert) aircraft on the Baltic Air Policing mission went from 46 in 2013 to 138 in 2014, and reached a high of 153 in 2015. NATO fighters scrambled 130 times in 2017, and 85 Alpha Scrambles had been mounted by mid-November 2018, including 12 by pairs of Belgian F-16s and 16 by pairs of Luftwaffe Typhoons since they took over the rotational commitments in Lithuania and Estonia at the end of August. The day after AIN’s visit to Amari Air Base, Luftwaffe Typhoons scrambled three times to intercept four Russian military aircraft, including a MiG-29UB, an Antonov An-26, and two Ilyushin Il-76 transports.

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