One Bomber, Two Fighters Greeted By NATO Aircraft

NATO pilots have been scrambled multiple times in recent days to intercept Russian aircraft flying over the Baltic Sea, leading some analysts to speculate the Russian President Vladimir Putin is probing NATO's defenses.

The U.K. newspaper The Daily Mail reports that NATO jets have intercepted a Russian Il-22 bomber escorted by two Su-27 fighters twice over three days from February 14-16, according to the government of Lithuania.

Newsweek reports that the jets came close to encroaching on allied airspace in both instances, and only the bomber had its transponder on. A flight plan was filed for one aircraft on the 16th, while no flight plans were submitted for the flights on the 14th

Lithuania has asked the Trump administration to help it shore up its air defenses in the Baltic region over growing security concerns. Moscow reportedly regards the presence of two U.S. missile interceptor stations in Poland just 155 miles from Kaliningrad as a security threat in its back yard. NATO and U.S. officials hold that the system is there to counter the threat of short- and medium-range ballistic missiles particularly from "rogue states" in the middle east.

(Image from file)

FMI: www.nato.int