North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) forces deployed a number of aircraft on Monday to intercept Russian bombers and fighter jets flying over the Baltic Sea, in an impressive show of power.
French Rafales took off from a Lithuanian air base and joined fighter jets from Sweden, Finland, Poland, Denmark and Romania to intercept hostile aircraft; however, no aerial engagements took place as Russian aircraft remained in airspace over neutral waters.
The French detachment, stationed in Lithuania as part of NATO’s air policing efforts, said its planes were monitoring the Russian planes, adding: “The Russian mission included 10 fighter jets taking turns to escort two supersonic Tu-22M3s.”
In a statement on Telegram, the Russian Defense Ministry said the flight of its bombers lasted more than four hours and occurred in neutral airspace.
The ministry said: “All flights of Russian Aerospace Forces aircraft are carried out in strict compliance with international rules for the use of airspace.”
He added that their planes regularly conduct flights in international airspace over the Baltic Sea, Black Sea, Pacific, Arctic and North Atlantic Ocean.
NATO’s muscular display of air power comes after US President Donald Trump called the alliance a “paper tiger” over its refusal to participate in US-Israeli military aggression against Iran.
The incident comes just a week after British Royal Air Force jets were dispatched to intercept unidentified aircraft approaching British airspace. However, no interception took place as the aircraft remained outside British airspace.
