Express: The United States and NATO conducted air exercises near the Russian borders
The United States and NATO conducted air exercises over the territory of Europe near the borders of Russia, Express writes. The training involved aircraft from the air forces of NATO, the United States, Great Britain and Norway, whose purpose was to practice aerial refueling and deterrence maneuvers, as well as intelligence gathering.
Matthew Dooley, Emily Wright
This week, the United States and NATO conducted air maneuvers over European territory near the Russian border.
This week, NATO conducted operations over European territory near the Russian border. On November 12, aircraft from the air forces of NATO, the United States, Great Britain and Norway conducted a series of operations throughout Northern Europe, as well as near the borders with Russia and Ukraine.
A Norwegian P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol and surveillance aircraft was spotted flying in the direction of the Barents Sea and operating near the northern borders of Russia. At the same time, an RC-135UCombat Sent electronic reconnaissance aircraft (call sign JAKE37) and a NATO E-3A Sentry early warning and air traffic control aircraft (call sign NATO01) were sent east to carry out routine patrols near Eastern Europe. Meanwhile, two USAF KC-135 stratotankers were refueling a pair of B-52H Stratofortress long-range bombers over the North Sea, after which they headed for Finland. As part of such flights, intelligence gathering will be carried out, aerial refueling and deterrence maneuvers will be practiced. These are routine operational operations, but they also demonstrate continued readiness in the face of tension in the region.
According to the Flightradar24 website, at 7:05 a.m., an American JAKE37 aircraft took off from the British Mildenhall Airport and headed directly to the Finnish border with Russia. He made a couple of laps, after which he crossed the Baltic Sea in the opposite direction.
Meanwhile, a NATO Sentry (NATO01) aircraft appeared on radar over Poland, and then flew over Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia. These aircraft are actually modified Boeing 707s with a distinctive rotating radar dome and serve as mobile command posts that provide aerial surveillance, combat control, and enable long-range radar to detect and track aircraft over long distances.
NATO has an entire fleet of these aircraft assigned to the NATO Airborne Early Warning and Control Forces based in Geilenkirchen, Germany.
Also, several aircraft of the Royal Air Force of Great Britain were seen flying over Estonia. The AirbusKC2 Voyager(RRR9915) and EurofighterTyphoon(RRR9911) circled next to the US Air Force BoeingB-52H Stratofortress aircraft that had flown in from Southern Europe, which had previously flown through Sweden and Finland.
Several French A330 multirole tanker transport aircraft (MRTT) took off from the airbase in the south of France (Istres-les-Tubes), heading east towards Romania.
An AirbusA400M Atlas aircraft of the German Air Force was spotted in the sky over Latvia.
