NATO jets intercepted Russian military aircraft more than 300 times in 2023

Europe, News January 2, 2024 , by IRIA No Comments

NATO has reported that in 2023 its air forces all across Europe scrambled fighter jets over 300 times to intercept Russian military aircraft approaching Alliance airspace. Most interceptions were made in the Baltic region.

The peak of NATO-Russia aerial interceptions was seen in 2022 when the air forces from all across Europe reported more than 570 instances where NATO aircraft came face to face with Russian jets.

The tensions have been high since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February of that year. It is unclear why the pace of intercepts slowed in 2023 since tensions between Russia and NATO remain high.

“Along NATO’s eastern flank, Russian military aircraft have a history of not transmitting a transponder code indicating their position and altitude (as well as) not filing a flight plan,” NATO said in the statement.

“The vast majority of aerial encounters between NATO and Russian jets were safe and professional. Breaches of NATO airspace by Russian military aircraft remained rare and generally of short duration,” it added.

NATO statement noted that it has standing air-policing missions that call for Allied jets to scramble when there are signs of Russian military planes approaching Allied airspace in unpredictable ways.

Still, while NATO carries out hundreds of intercepts annually, actual breaches of allied airspace remain rare. And most aerial encounters between NATO and Russian jets are handled safely without escalation.

NATO fighter jets F-35 and F-16 — *^{Italian Air Force F-35 fighter jet performing aerial training drills with Poland’s F-16 aircraft. (Image Credit: Twitter/@NATO_ACT)}*

“Russia’s war against Ukraine has created the most dangerous security situation in Europe in decades,” said acting NATO Spokesperson Dylan White. “NATO fighter jets are on duty around the clock, ready to scramble in case of suspicious or unannounced flights near the airspace of our Allies. Air policing is an important way in which NATO provides security for our Allies.”

The most dangerous episodes for such instances also occurred this year. In March, a Russian fighter jet collided with a U.S. drone over the Black Sea, forcing the unmanned aircraft to crash into international waters. U.S. European Command at the time accused the Russian pilots of “aggressive actions” that “could lead to miscalculation and unintended escalation.”

Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, NATO has substantially reinforced its eastern flank, which stretches from the Baltics to Romania. NATO member states have been on a spree to add air defenses with more fighter jets, surveillance flights, and ground-based air defenses to their arsenals following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

After repeated Russian strikes on Ukrainian infrastructure very close to NATO territory, the Allies deployed extra fighter jets to Romania. In October, after subsea pipelines ruptured in the Baltic Sea, NATO sent additional capabilities to the region. This year, NATO also held its biggest-ever air exercise, with over 250 aircraft training for the collective defense of the Alliance during “Air Defender 23”.