NATO alert fighters intercepted 10 Russian military aircraft during a single scramble sortie from Ämari AB, Estonia, last week, the Royal Air Force announced. The RAF Eurofighter Typhoons intercepted and identified several groups of aircraft, including four Sukhoi Su-34 strike aircraft, four MiG?-31 interceptors, and a pair of Antonov An-26 tactical airlifters on July 24, according to officials. “Air interceptions such as this highlight the vital importance of the UK’s contribution to the Baltic air policing mission and demonstrate our collective resolve to protect NATO airspace alongside our allies,” British Defense Secretary Michael Fallon said in the release. The RAF Typhoons rotated to Ämari on May 1 alongside Royal Norwegian Air Force F-16s to provide top cover for NATO’s Baltic allies, and are slated to remain through August. Allied jets on Baltic air policing duties were scrambled seven times to intercept Russian military aircraft operating without transponders or filed flight plans last week, the Baltic Course reported. Russian nuclear bombers also were intercepted and escorted within 40 miles of the northern California coast earlier this month, according to the Washington Free Beacon. (See also Russia Ups Air Activity in Europe.)
Amid NATO’s continued push to ramp up air defenses in Eastern Europe, Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall swung by seven allied countries to boost relations last week, including those on Russia’s and Ukraine’s doorstep.