Russia said on Monday that one of its MiG-29 fighter jets prevented a Norwegian P-8A Poseidon patrol plane from crossing its border in the Barents Sea area.
“As the Russian fighter jet approached, the foreign military aircraft turned around and flew away from the border of the Russian Federation”the Ministry of Defense reported, specifying that the Norwegian aircraft was a Boeing P-8A “Poseidon”, a maritime patrol aircraft.
‘No violation of the border of the Russian Federation was allowed’he added.
The interception, a maneuver involving escorting an aircraft deemed too close or within airspace, took place in accordance with international rules, “without cutting off the runway” or “dangerous approaches,” the Russian ministry said.
Incidents between Russian aircraft and those of NATO countries, including Norway, have multiplied in recent years, even before the start of the conflict in Ukraine.
They often happened in the Baltic Sea, but also in the Black Sea and elsewhere.
The Norwegian military said in April it had tracked down and identified a Russian squadron of two strategic bombers and three fighter jets in international airspace over the Arctic Ocean’s Barents Sea as part of an alliance mission.
In another statement on Monday, the Russian military said several of its strategic bombers and fighters had conducted “scheduled sorties” over international waters in the Baltic, Barents, Norwegian and East Siberian, Beaufort and Chukchi seas.
Source: DN
