Intercepted Russian planes over the Baltic Sea: Putin’s air number

German and British warplanes intercept four Russian planes over the Baltic Sea. What is behind the provocations of Putin’s air force?

It has happened again. British and German fighter jets have intercepted Russian jets over the Baltic Sea. Last Friday alone there were four Russian planes near Estonia, as the Bundeswehr “Team Luftwaffe” reported on Twitter on Monday: “There’s a lot going on over the Baltic Sea. Today the alarm squad intercepted four Russian planes.”

It wasn’t the first time. Since the start of the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine, aircraft and drones from NATO and Russia have met more and more frequently.

Vladimir Putin’s provocations show one thing above all: there is also a new Cold War between the West and Russia in the air. The airspace violations are dangerous muscle flexing. But do the flights also have a military purpose for the Kremlin?

Anyone who investigates this question first realizes that such air incidents on the NATO-Russia border have happened again and again since the Cold War. In the past, the number has alternately increased and decreased. Recently she has grown a lot.

In 2022, for example, NATO interceptors had to take off 570 times to intercept and escort Russian military aircraft, as the editorial network Germany (RND) first reported and NATO security circles confirmed to t-online. The number of missions has almost doubled compared to 2021. At that time there were 290 such cases. According to NATO, more than 60 NATO fighter jets are ready for action at any time in the Baltic States.

The Bundeswehr is also deployed more frequently. “In 2021 there were three missions, in 2022 Air Force combat aircraft from Germany and Estonia had to take off 30 times to identify and, if necessary, escort Russian military aircraft over the Baltic Sea region,” said a spokesman for the Air Force t-online. In 2023 there were “nine alarm starts” by the end of February.

The trigger in all cases: Russian military machines. In addition, the alarm squads also have to go up when radio contact with civilian machines is lost.

The protection of the airspace on NATO’s eastern flank is changing, and the German Air Force is also currently involved in protecting the airspace over the Baltic States with three Eurofighters for several weeks. “So far, there have been no violations of German or NATO airspace by Russian military aircraft,” explains the Air Force spokesman. “In most cases, these were Russian reconnaissance and transport aircraft, which are accompanied by Russian fighter planes.”

On the other hand, the Air Force did not want to give any information about the armament of the Russian aircraft. So far, however, they have always been able to be intercepted in good time before they reach NATO airspace.

But what is behind the Russian provocations?

On the one hand, NATO and Russia regularly test the other side’s ability to react. For Russia, one of the issues at stake is how long the NATO jets need to react to Russian approaches. In the event of a military conflict, this would be important information for a strategic first strike or counterattack. That’s the military background.