North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) forces deployed a number of jets to intercept Russian bombers and fighter jets flying over the Baltic Sea in an impressive show of force on Monday.
French Rafales took off from a Lithuanian air base and joined fighters from Sweden, Finland, Poland, Denmark and Romania to intercept the enemy jets; however, no air intervention occurred as Russian jets remained in the airspace over neutral waters.
The French detachment, stationed in Lithuania as part of NATO’s air policing effort, said its jets were keeping watch over Russian planes, adding: “The Russian mission included 10 fighters taking turns escorting two supersonic Tu-22M3s.”
In a statement on Telegram, the Russian Defense Ministry said its bomber’s flight was over four hours long and took place in neutral airspace.
The ministry said: “All flights of Russian Aerospace Forces aircraft are carried out in strict accordance with international rules for the use of airspace.”
It added that their aircraft regularly operate flights in international airspace over the Baltic and Black Seas and the Pacific, Arctic and North Atlantic.
NATO’s brawny display of air power comes after United States (US) President Donald Trump described the alliance as a “paper tiger” over its refusal to join the US-Israeli military aggression against Iran.
The incident comes just a week after British Royal Air Force jets were scrambled to intercept unidentified aircraft approaching British airspace. However, no interception took place as the jet remained outside British airspace.
