UAWire
Monday, December 28, 2020 11:00:00 AM
This year, The North Atlantic Alliance Air Force intercepted hundreds of Russian warplanes approaching NATO airspace, reports NATO’s press service. NATO air forces across Europe scrambled more than 400 times in 2020 to intercept unknown aircraft approaching Alliance airspace. Almost 90 percent of these missions - around 350 - were in response to flights by Russian military aircraft. This is a moderate increase from 2019, the statement reads.
NATO noted that Russian military aircraft often do not transmit a transponder code indicating their position and altitude, do not file a flight plan, or do not communicate with air traffic controllers, posing a potential risk to civilian airliners.