French military aircraft have been scrambled 11 times in the past week as part of a NATO mission to patrol the airspace over the Baltic Sea, a French armed forces spokesman said, quoted by "Reuters".
NATO mission ensures airspace protection over the three Baltic states - Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania - through a rotational deployment of alliance fighter jets to compensate for limitations in their own air capabilities. The planes are scrambled to intercept unidentified or irregular aerial targets.
Guillaume Vernet told a weekly briefing that the unusually high number of interceptions could be a signal that Russia is showing force during a week when the country hosts its annual International Economic Forum in St. Petersburg.
"The French detachment deployed in the "Baltic Sea Air Patrol" mission carried out numerous interceptions of Russian military aircraft flying without flight plans or radio communication," Vernet said, specifying that the aircraft intercepted included armed fighters, reconnaissance and transport aircraft.