NATO planes were scrambled 10 times in a six-hour period on Monday in response to an "unusual peak" of Russian flights in several areas, the Western military alliance said on Tuesday.

They intercepted planes near alliance airspace in the North Atlantic, North Sea, Baltic and Black Sea, Nato said.

There was no immediate response from Russia, which recently accused Nato of following a path of confrontation.

Nato's secretary general has urged Moscow to resume dialogue.

Jens Stoltenberg's call last week was backed up by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, on a visit to the alliance's headquarters in Brussels, when he proposed a "relationship with Russia that is at least predictable and stable".

According to Nato, while the Russian military aircraft never entered its member states' airspace they did not transmit transponder codes so posed a potential risk to civilian flights. The alliance said the interceptions involved six groups of Russian planes:

•Norwegian F-16s scrambled as two Tu-95 Bears neared the Norwegian coast

•The Russian planes then flew south over the North Sea prompting action from UK and Belgian air force planes

•Two Tu-160 Blackjack bombers were later intercepted by the Norwegian Air Force.

•Allied planes also tracked three Russian planes over the Black Sea

•A Russian maritime patrol plane was intercepted by Italian planes over the Baltic Sea near Kaliningrad.

Relations between Moscow and Nato deteriorated in 2014 when Russia seized Crimea from Ukraine and Russian-backed rebels took over areas of eastern Ukraine.

They have been further strained by a dispute over the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline from Russia to Germany which is opposed by the US. Mr Blinken has warned that any companies involved in the project risk US sanctions.

Nato Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg called last week for Russia to resume dialogue in the form of the Nato-Russia Council, which has not met since 2019. Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko said Nato was unable to get rid of the habit of seeing Russia as a "threat from the East".

Meanwhile, a 2020 ceasefire in Ukraine, which is not a member of Nato, has come under strain with both sides blaming each other for the rise in violence. Ukraine's commander in chief, Ruslan Khomchak, has accused Russia of waging an "aggressive policy" and sending Russian troops close to Ukrainian borders.

Aladegba:
Sometimes when they talk about Russia, you wonder if it was the same Country who sold Texas State to America when the good was good. Why is Russia,IRAN and, Libya (gun running,Nig bokoz/herdsmen now bent on destroying the world peace

Aladegba:
Sometimes when they talk about Russia, you wonder if it was the same Country who sold Texas State to America when the good was good. Why is Russia now bent on destroying the world peace

Aladegba:
Sometimes when they talk about Russia, you wonder if it was the same Country who sold Texas State to America when the good was good. Why is Russia now bent on destroying the world peace

Chinese Navy Issues Angry Warning to US Plane in South China Sea - Audio Recording

Published on 22 May 2015

The Chinese navy repeatedly warned the U.S. Navy P-8A Poseidon plane to leave airspace around disputed islands in the South China Sea.

"Foreign military aircraft, this is Chinese navy. You are approaching our military alert zone. Leave immediately," a Chinese naval officer warned the U.S. plane in tense radio exchange, "Your action is unfriendly and dangerous. Please go away quickly."

U.S. Sailors assigned to Patrol Squadron (VP) 45 conduct flight operations aboard a P-8A Poseidon over the Spratly Islands in South China Sea, May 20.

VP-45 is on deployment supporting U.S. 7th Fleet operations in the Pacific.

Credit: Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Joshua Scott.

Aladegba:
Sometimes when they talk about Russia, you wonder if it was the same Country who sold Texas State to America when the good was good. Why is Russia now bent on destroying the world peace

epondudu:
Let them start the war oooo.
So that Nigeria can sell it oil

valentineuwakwe:

Noted

they sold Alaska and not Texas. ...this was annexed from Mexico

Soolmus:


Alaska not Texas

Aladegba:
Sometimes when they talk about Russia, you wonder if it was the same Country who sold Texas State to America when the good was good. Why is Russia now bent on destroying the world peace

Aladegba:
Sometimes when they talk about Russia, you wonder if it was the same Country who sold Texas State to America when the good was good. Why is Russia now bent on destroying the world peace

naptu2:



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OaKbZW0pqkM

naptu2:
Aha! Here it is. This is probably the biggest incident in recent times.

This happened almost exactly 20 years ago (April 1st, 2001).



A US Navy signals intelligence plane was flying off the coast of China and collecting intelligence about a nearby Chinese military base when the Chinese Navy scrambled 2 fighter jets to intercept it.


The US plane was a propeller plane, while, as I said, the Chinese planes were jets.


The Chinese planes flew very close to the US plane and one of the jets had to fly very slowly in order to match the speed of the US plane. The jet was not designed to fly so slowly and it became difficult to control.


One of the jets collided with the US plane and broke into 2. It is assumed that the Chinese pilot ejected from the plane, but his body was never found. He is presumed to have died.


The American plane had to make an emergency landing on a Chinese airfield. The crew of the plane quickly destroyed sensitive intelligence documents and equipment so that they would not fall into Chinese hands.


The Chinese arrested and detained the crew of the American plane. I remember that it was a very tense period.

This incident happened just a few weeks after George Bush The Second was sworn in as president.


The US eventually sent a vague letter of apology to the Chinese. The letter said that the US was sorry about the death of the Chinese pilot and they were also sorry that their plane made an unauthorised landing on a Chinese airfield. The US crew were released after the letter was delivered.


However, the US did not apologise for flying their plane close to Chinese airspace and they did not accept responsibility for the incident. Rather the letter was deliberately vague so that both sides could save face and so that the crew of the US plane would be released.

President Bush also sent a letter of condolence directly to the widow of the Chinese pilot.

However, some official and unofficial US sources continued to blame the Chinese pilot for the crash. Some US conspiracy theorists even claimed that the Chinese pilot was actually alive and that the Chinese Government was hiding him.


The Chinese initially refused to release the US plane. However, the plane was eventually disassembled and released to the US via a Russian airline. The Chinese billed the US Government for the feeding of the US aircrew and the transportation of the plane back to the US.



The video below contains footage from the US plane just before it collided with the Chinese plane. You can see how close the Chinese plane was.


https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hainan_Island_incident




https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CUp_jX17ZIE