Category Archives: NATO

NATO: Alliance "worried" About IS Radicals
Subscribe for more Breaking News: http://smarturl.it/AssociatedPress The outgoing commander of NATO #39;s Land Command in Izmir, Turkey, said on Wednesday that every member of the alliance is...

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NATO: Alliance "worried" About IS Radicals - Video

The NATO Balkan Bombings Targeting Families Of Its Own People
NATO Bombed My Family: How one family of Balkan refugees in Canada are reconnected with their kin over the war in their homeland Subscribe to Journeyman for more: ...

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The NATO Balkan Bombings Targeting Families Of Its Own People - Video

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

Editor's note: James Stavridis is dean of The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University and former supreme allied commander at NATO. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the author

(CNN) -- Recent developments off the coast of Sweden raise many questions, and we do not as yet have answers.

Last week, Swedish media reported that the country's military was searching for an underwater vessel, possibly a Russian submarine, after an emergency radio transmission allegedly made in Russian (although Russia has denied it has any vessels in Swedish waters).

James Stavridis

Now, as the Swedish Navy continues to search for the unidentified undersea vessel that may have penetrated the country's territorial waters, it's worth keeping in mind some key facts to help place the issue in perspective.

For a start, anti-submarine warfare is complex and very difficult to execute properly. Especially in the close confines of territorial waters, the advantages tend to accrue to the submarine. The rocky floor of an inland sea like the Baltic can mask acoustic signatures that give watching ships, helicopters and maritime patrol aircraft the ability to track and identify a subsurface contact.

Second, this is happening against the backdrop of the Swedish Navy and Air Force having suffered significant budget cuts over the past decades. As a general proposition, the Swedes have a capable and professional force. But since the end of the Cold War, they have not invested heavily in anti-submarine warfare capability.

They are not alone in this regard -- many of the other European nations have likewise cut back in this area given a sense that anti-submarine warfare was something they would have needed against the USSR during the Cold War but less so during pre-Ukrainian crisis days with Russia.

And although Sweden is not a NATO member, meaning this operation is a national effort, it is a very strong partner to NATO and has been involved deeply in positive ways in Afghanistan, the Balkans, Libya and other operations. Yet the fact remains that there is no treaty obligation on the part of NATO to be involved. If the Swedes ask for help, it is likely that NATO would respond, but to date they have not done so.

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Opinion: NATO should aid in Swedish search

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Jets scrambled: an F-16 fighter jet takes off from the military airbase in Europe. Photo: AFP

Brussels: NATO and Swedish fighter jets were scrambled to intercept a Russian intelligence-gathering plane that briefly entered Estonian airspace on Tuesday, the alliance said on Wednesday.

The Estonian Foreign Ministry called the Russian ambassador to the ministry and gave him a protest note over the incursion, the Estonian defence forces said.

Fighters from Denmark as well as Portuguese F-16s from NATO's air policing mission in the Baltics took off after radar detected an unidentified aircraft flying close to NATO airspace in the Baltic Sea, NATO said.

The plane was identified as a Russian IL-20 intelligence-gathering aircraft that had taken off from Russia's Baltic enclave of Kaliningrad, heading towards Denmark.

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The Russian aircraft was first intercepted by Danish F-16s and later, as it headed further north, by fighters from Sweden, which is not a NATO member.

The Russian aircraft turned south again, entering Estonian airspace for less than one minute, a NATO statement said.

Portuguese F-16s, which had been scrambled from their base in Lithuania, escorted the Russian plane away from NATO airspace.

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NATO, Swedish fighters scrambled to intercept Russian intelligence-gathering plane

Russia spy plane intercepted in NATO airspace

Brussels (AFP) - NATO fighter jets intercepted a Russian spy plane over the Baltic Sea after it breached Estonian airspace, the alliance said Wednesday in the latest of such incidents amid tensions with Moscow over Ukraine.

The Ilyushin IL-20 "intelligence collection aircraft", which took off from the Russian Baltic coast enclave of Kaliningrad on Tuesday, was first intercepted by Danish F-16 jets when it approached Denmark, NATO said in a statement.

It then flew north towards non-NATO member Sweden which also sent jets to intercept the plane.

Nearly four hours later the plane flew towards NATO member Estonia and was detected in Estonian airspace "for a period of less than one minute, which represented an incursion of about 600 metres (yards) into NATO airspace," it said.

Portuguese F-16s spotted the Russian propeller plane and escorted it out of NATO airspace, the alliance said.

The Ukraine crisis has produced the worst east-west tension since the end of the Cold War.

NATO has stepped up its Baltic air patrols due to what it says is a surge in intercepts of Russian warplanes near Polish and Baltic airspace since Moscow's annexation of Crimea from Ukraine in March.

The Swedish Navy meanwhile has been searching for a suspected Russian submarine off the coast of Stockholm for nearly a week, although it said Wednesday it was pulling back some of its ships.

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Russia spy plane intercepted in NATO airspace

NATO scrambled fighter jets to intercept Russian aircraft in the proximity of allied airspace over the Baltic Sea on two separate occasions this week, the organization confirmed Tuesday. The incidents occurred amid concern that the Russian military has increased activity in the region in recent days.

Two Canadian F-18 Hornet fighters intercepted a Russian surveillance plane on Monday, the Associated Press reports. The NATO aircraft followed the surveillance plane for about 15 minutes and determined that it didn't constitute a threat to allied forces.Once identification was successful, the intercept mission was completed and the two Hornets returned to their base [in Lithuania], NATO said in a statement. The Russian aircraft remained in international airspace throughout the encounter and never crossed into sovereign territory, Lt. Col. Robert Gericke said.

In a separate incident, the Latvian military said that NATO fighter jets were deployed on Tuesday to intercept a Russian surveillance aircraft flying over the Baltic Sea. Gericke confirmed the incident, but additional details on the encounter weren't immediately available.NATO said Tuesday that it regularly scrambles fighter jets to assess potential threats to the airspace of member nations. The alliance maintains a force of 16 fighter jets to defend the Baltic region.

The interception of the Russian surveillance plane occurred just days after Sweden released a photo of what was believed to be a foreign submarine operating less than 30 miles from the countrys capital in Stockholm, Reuters reported. Three separate sightings confirmed the presence of a submerged vessel.

The Swedish military began its hunt for the vessel after it intercepted a radio transmission in Russian on an emergency frequency, sources told local newspaper Svenska Dagbladet. However, the Russian Defense Ministry has denied involvement in the incident.

Russian Navy ships and submarines are fulfilling their duties in the world ocean waters in accordance with the plan, a defense ministry official said, according to Interfax news agency. There are no extraordinary, let alone emergency, situations involving Russian warships.

Coupled with its actions in Ukraine, Russias increased military activity over the Baltic Sea has led to increased tensions between Moscow and NATO. Finnish military officials claim that Russia has violated Finlands airspace five times in 2014, while NATO has intercepted Russian aircraft on at least two other occasions since September.

Russia is modernizing its military equipment and testing it, but there are also more military exercises, former Swedish defense minister Karin Enstrm told Newsweek. Its a sign of Russia increasing its military capabilities, both when it comes to equipment and fighting abilities. These developments in combination with the war in Ukraine are very serious and alarming. Ukraine is impacting on our part of the world very negatively.

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Russian Military Activity Increasing? NATO Intercepts Surveillance Aircrafts Over Baltic Sea

A Russian spy plane has been intercepted by NATO jets over the Baltic Sea, the alliance says, amid heightened tensions in the region.

Estonia summoned Russias ambassador on Wednesday after its military said the Ilyushin-20 plane had entered its airspace for about a minute.

But Russia said the plane had been on a training flight and had not violated Estonian airspace.

Russia has been accused of several recent border violations in the region.

The conflict in eastern Ukraine, which the West says Russia has stoked by supporting the rebels, has prompted sanctions against senior figures in Moscow and bans on EU goods in response.

In the past week, non-NATO member Sweden has been searching for a submarine reportedly sighted in its waters in the southern Stockholm archipelago some 48km (30 miles) from the capital. The suspected submarine is widely assumed to be Russian.

Last month, Estonia accused Russia of abducting one of its security officials on the border.

NATO said the Ilyushin plane had taken off from the Russian Baltic coast enclave of Kaliningrad on Tuesday and was first intercepted by Danish F-16 jets when it approached Denmark, before flying north towards Sweden.

Intercepted by Swedish planes, the Ilyushin entered Estonian airspace for less than a minute and was escorted out by Portuguese F16s, the alliance said.

A Russian defence ministry spokesman said the military plane had taken off from Khrabrovo airfield in Kaliningrad and flown over neutral waters of the Baltic Sea.

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NATO jets intercept Russian spy plane

7.62 NATO Ball striking an armor steel plate
The video shows the interaction between a soft lead bullet and a strong steel plate during ballistic impact. Extreme deformations of the bullet can be seen. Fracture is described through node-split...

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7.62 NATO Ball striking an armor steel plate - Video

Nato Ficarra - Green Belt - Pinan Sandan
Nato Ficarra - Green Belt - Pinan Sandan.

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Nato Ficarra - Green Belt - Pinan Sandan - Video

Propagandist NATO Mouthpiece RADM John Kirby
Untrustworthily Foolish MAN / NATO Spokesman RADM John Kirby https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0BYtM7EAmO4 list=UUVqHqV-g0QFucFIJdjqBRsQ Propagandist NATO Mouthpiece RADM ...

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Propagandist NATO Mouthpiece RADM John Kirby - Video