File photo of a a Russian Sukhoi Su-35 as it takes part in the 2013 Paris Air show.

Russian jets probing NATO airspace and supersized war drills are spilling Kremlin military secrets and scaring European nations into stiffening their armed forces.

Allied jets have been scrambled over 400 times this year to intercept Russian planes -- a 50 percent rise over 2013, North Atlantic Treaty Organization Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said yesterday. A report by the European Leadership Network, a London-based security research group, termed the incidents a highly disturbing picture of violations of national airspace and narrowly avoided mid-air collisions.

Yet there are benefits for NATO.

Clearly, every time we come into contact with Russian forces and every time we see their tactics and how they deploy, we do learn about them, U.S. Air Force General Philip Breedlove, the 28-member NATOs top military commander, said in Tallinn on Nov. 19. They are just happening more often and occasionally, the size of the activities is larger.

A worsening standoff is pitting Europe and the U.S. against Russia over Ukraine in the biggest crisis since the Cold Wars end 25 years ago. Even German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier -- a persistent proponent of dialog -- said on Nov. 18 after shuttle diplomacy in Kiev and Moscow, that he sees little reason for optimism.

Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks during a meeting of the United People's Front Forum on in Moscow on Nov. 18, 2014. Putin said the U.S. wants not to humiliate, but to subjugate Russia, in remarks at the meeting. Close

Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks during a meeting of the United People's Front... Read More

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Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks during a meeting of the United People's Front Forum on in Moscow on Nov. 18, 2014. Putin said the U.S. wants not to humiliate, but to subjugate Russia, in remarks at the meeting.

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Russia's War Games Spill Secrets, Stiffen NATO Resolve