FIVE Russian fighter jets were caught flying perilously close to Nato airspace after Moscow warned shooting them would lead to all-out war.
The Nato Allied Air Command said it intercepted three MiG-31s, one Su-30 and one Su-35 fighter jets flying in a formation off the coast of Latvia.
NATO AIRCOMTwo Russian MiG-31s were seen flying off in a formation off the coast of Latvia[/caption]
NATO AIRCOMTwo Hungarian Gripen fighter jets were scrambled to intercept the Russian military aircraft[/caption]
A NORAD Command F-16 Fighting Falcon fighter aircraft (foreground) escorts a Russian Su-35 fighter, center, and Tu-95 Bear bomber
Two Hungarian Gripen fighter jets were scrambled to lead an escort mission as part of Nato Baltic Air Policing mission.
After visual identification and escort, the Russian formation turned away, and the Gripens returned to base, it was reported.
It comes just a day after the US and Canada scrambled four F-16 Fighting Falcons, four KC-135 tankers and an E-3 surveillance aircraft to intercept two Russian Tu-95 bombers and two Su-35 jets.
They were detected operating in Alaska’s air defence identification zone (ADIZ) on Thursday.
The North American Aerospace Defence Command (Norad), which deployed the aircraft, said: “The Russian military aircraft remained in international airspace and did not enter American or Canadian sovereign airspace.”
In recent weeks, Russia has been accused of making “reckless violations” of Nato airspace in multiple European nations.
A sighting of a suspected drone briefly shuttered a Danish airport on Friday for the second time in a few hours, after the country’s prime minister said the flights were part of “hybrid attacks” that may be linked to Russia.
Drones have been seen flying over several Danish airports since Wednesday, causing one of them to close for hours.
It came after a sighting earlier this week, which prompted Copenhagen airport – the busiest hub in the Nordic region – to shut down.
That followed a similar incident in Norway, drone incursions in Polish and Romanian territory and the violation of Estonian airspace by Russian fighter jets.
And last weekend, three Russian MiG-31 fighter jets entered Estonia’s airspace “without clearance” last week.
The fighter jets – capable of carrying Kinzhal hypersonic missiles – flew over Vaindloo Island and stayed there for nearly 12 minutes.
Nato allies scrambled Italian F-35s to repel the Russian jets.
Shortly afterwards, Polish authorities reported a “low flyover” of Russian military planes near an oil and gas platform.
A Russian MIG-31 fighter jet flying above the Baltic Sea after violating Estonian airspace
And two weeks ago, Polish authorities said they detected 19 violations of their airspace.
It prompted a dramatic million-dollar response as fighter jets were scrambled and Patriot air defence systems placed on alert.
Both Estonia and Poland initiated Nato’s Article 4 after their sovereign airspace was breached.
Russian officials have denied their jets crossed Estonian airspace.
Shoot ’em down
Trump told Nato to shoot down Russian planes if they breach European airspace again.
Speaking on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York, the US President said member states “shouldn’t hesitate” in the face of incursions.
European diplomats have now privately warned Moscow that further incursions into Nato airspace would be met with full force, including shooting down Russian fighter jets.
Ambassadors of the United Kingdom, France, and Germany met with Russian officials in Moscow in a tense meeting.
After the closed-door chat, the diplomats privately concluded that the violation of Estonian airspace had been a deliberate tactic ordered by Russian commanders.
But Russia said it will go to war with the West if Nato acts on the threat to shoot down Moscow’s fighter jets.
Alexey Meshkov, Russia’s ambassador to France, said: “You know, there are many Nato planes that violate Russian airspace, deliberately or not, but it happens quite often. They are not shot down afterwards,” he told RTL, without providing an example.
He doubled down on Russia’s denial of any involvement in recent drone incursions across Eastern Europe.
“Russia doesn’t do that, play with anyone. It’s not really our thing,” he added.
AFPRussian Ambassador to France Alexey Meshkov said Nato shooting down Russian planes ‘would mean war’[/caption]