NATO fighter jets scrambled 570 times to monitor Russian military flights in international airspace last year. That meant the number of such intercepts nearly doubled compared to 2021, a NATO spokesman confirmed to dpa following a report by the German media group Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland (RND). NATO sources say the spike was not only due to increased activity by the Russian military, but also to a stronger NATO presence on the eastern flank due to Moscow's war on Ukraine, which meant significantly more aircraft available for air surveillance there. Most of the intercepts took place over the Baltic Sea.
NATO Jets Scrambled 570 Times Last Year To Check Russian Military Flights
A Belgian Air Force F-16 fighter jet intercepts a Russian supersonic strategic bomber Tu-160 over Baltic Sea in 2019.