Air Force Commander: Weekly number of NATO reconnaissance flights in Baltic republic up to 8-12 in 2014
MOSCOW. Dec 16 (Interfax-AVN) - The United States and NATO countries have significantly increased the intensity of reconnaissance flights in the Baltic Republics, Russian Air Force Commander Col. Gen. Viktor Bondarev told reporters on Tuesday.
"The intensity of flights by U.S. and NATO reconnaissance aircraft above territories of the Baltic countries and waters of the Baltic and Barents Seas has grown significantly in 2014 and reached eight to twelve flights per week," Bondarev said.
Reconnaissance routes lie in the direct proximity to borders of the Russian Federation, which makes possible radio-electronic reconnaissance in a radius of up to 500 kilometers and monitoring of flight regimes and parameters of radio-electronic systems of troop, air defense and aviation control, he emphasized.
"Flights by RC-135 strategic reconnaissance aircraft of the U.S. Air Force have practically become daily. More than 140 RC-135 flights were performed in 2014, compared to 22 in 2013," the Air Force commander said.
In addition, activities of units of the Russian Armed Forces stationed in the Kaliningrad region and the Baltic Sea zone are constantly monitored by reconnaissance aircraft Gulfstream of the Swedish Air Force, P-3C Orion of the German Air Force, Challenger of the Danish Air Force and Orion of the Portuguese Air Force temporarily stationed at the Lithuanian Zokniai airbase, Bondarev said.
"These aircraft fly above southeastern parts of the Baltic Sea and near the state border of the Russian Federation," the general stressed.
"Reconnaissance aircraft performed over 200 flights in the aforesaid border area of Russia in 2014 as against 125 flights in 2013. Airborne equipment makes it possible to reconnoiter the entire territory of the Kaliningrad region," the commander said.