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Russia's jets have intercepted 14 foreign spy planes near its national borders in a week, a newspaper linked to the Russian Defense Ministry reported Thursday.
MOSCOW
(Sputnik) — Russia’s MiG-31 and Su-27 fighters were scrambled
in response to 23 flybys, most of them by US planes, the Krasnaya Zvezda
(Red Star) outlet reported.
The paper estimated that US RC-135 planes and Global Hawk drones had
been involved in ten reconnaissance missions, four were conducted
by Norwegian P-3 Orions, and three by Swedish Air Force’s Gulfstream
intelligence planes.
Planes of British and French air forces were each spotted twice by Russian air defense agencies. Portuguese and Japanese aircraft also made appearances close to Russia’s external frontiers.
The
number of air incidents involving Russian and NATO planes has increased
in the past years after the US-led alliance ratcheted up its presence
on Russia’s western border in 2014.
A Sputnik correspondent reported Wednesday that a NATO F-16 fighter
tried to get close to Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu's plane
flying over neutral Baltic waters to the country’s Kaliningrad exclave
but was chased away by a Russian jet.
Planes of British and French air forces were each spotted twice by Russian air defense agencies. Portuguese and Japanese aircraft also made appearances close to Russia’s external frontiers.
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Sputnik/ Igor Zarembo