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WORLD / Europe
British, Norwegian jets intercept Russian warplanes
(Agencies)
Updated: 2007-09-15 02:27
LONDON?- British and Norwegian jets intercepted Russian military aircraft
Friday after they breached NATO airspace close to the U.K. and Finland,
defense officials said.
A Tupolev TU-160 strategic bomber is seen at the MAKS-2007 international
air show in Zhukovsky outside Moscow, August 21, 2007. [Reuters]
Finland's Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen demanded an explanation from
Moscow over the violation of Finnish airspace, the latest in a spate of
recent incursions.
Russia said it had set up a commission to investigate the Finnish claims,
but an official insisted the aircraft had flown over neutral territory.
Two British "Tornado" F3 jets intercepted two Russian long-range bombers,
Britain's defense ministry said, without revealing precisely where the
incident took place.
Two Tu-160 "Blackjack" bombers were initially intercepted by Norwegian
F16s before they entered NATO airspace patrolled by Britain, defense
officials said.
British jets shadowed the Russian bombers until they altered course, a
defense ministry spokesman in London said.
In Finland, authorities said an Ilyushin-76 transporter plane flew about
4.5 kilometers (3 miles) into Finnish airspace for three minutes.
"These kinds of (violations) must not happen, that's our clear message
here," Vanhanen said. "And when they do happen, then they need to be
sorted out between the countries in question. That has to be done this
time, too."
An investigation has been launched by Finland's Frontier Guard, the
country's defense ministry said.
Interception of Russian warplanes in NATO patrolled-airspace has become
increasingly common since the Kremlin last month ordered strategic
bombers to carry out long-range missions for the first time since the
breakup of the Soviet Union.
Alexander Drobyshevsky, an aide to the Air Force commander, told the
Interfax news agency, Moscow was investigating Finland's claims.
"The air force command has put together a commission to examine objective
flight data for this plane and to check how the flight had been prepared
and how it was conducted," Drobyshevsky was quoted as saying.
But the ITAR-Tass news agency quoted Drobyshevsky as saying Russian
planes had "flown over neutral waters without approaching air borders of
any foreign nation."
International airspace along the southern Finnish coast is narrow, and
officials had expected violations, military officials in Finland said.
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