NATO fighter jets intercept Russian military aircraft flying over the Baltic Sea
French Rafale fighter jets took off from an air base in Lithuania, where they remain deployed as part of NATO's long-running air surveillance mission.
A podium with the NATO logo.
Officials reported that NATO aircraft intercepted Russian strategic bombers and fighter jets flying over the Baltic Sea on Monday. It was also a demonstration of air power on the alliance's eastern flank.
French Rafale fighter jets took off from an air base in Lithuania, where they are deployed as part of NATO's air surveillance mission that has been in place for years.
The aircraft, equipped with air-to-air missiles, operated alongside aircraft from Sweden, Finland, Poland, Denmark and Romania with the aim of monitoring and supervising Russian air activity, the French detachment said.
According to a statement obtained by CBS, the Russian operation was composed of two Tu-22M3 supersonic bombers and about ten fighters—between SU-30s and SU-35s—which relieved each other in escort duties to protect these larger strategic aircraft.
Russia's response
"t certain stages of the route, the long-range bombers were accompanied by fighters of foreign states," the ministry said in a message picked up by CBS.
"Crews of long-range aviation regularly conduct flights over the neutral waters of the Arctic, the North Atlantic, the Pacific Ocean, as well as the Baltic and Black Seas. All flights of Russian Aerospace Forces aircraft are carried out in strict compliance with international rules for the use of airspace," the ministry added.
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