PARIS — The number of times NATO fighter jet scrambled to intercept Russian military aircraft approaching allied airspace over Europe has changed little in 2024 compared to 2023, even as Western leaders grow increasingly worried about Russian aggression and hybrid warfare targeting European countries within the alliance.
NATO’s Allied Air Command in Ramstein, Germany, saw “no sensitive uptick” in Russian air activity over Europe, an alliance official told Defense News. The number of intercepts “remained mostly the same” from the previous year, when NATO air policing missions scrambled well over 300 times to intercept Russian military aircraft approaching allied airspace, mostly over the Baltic Sea.
The alliance keeps jets on duty around the clock to scramble in case of suspicious or unannounced flights, and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 means the air-policing mission established during the Cold War has taken on renewed significance. NATO faces a war on its eastern front that has prompted Russian threats, suspected acts of sabotage in the Baltic, and violations of European Union airspace by drones targeting Ukraine.
NATO forces across Europe scrambled more than 400 times in total in 2024, according to Allied Air Command. Most of the time jets are scrambled when aircraft approach European borders without properly identifying themselves or communicating with air traffic control. Allied Air Command declined to provide exact numbers on how many times NATO jets scramble and where, saying the data could reveal sensitive information potentially harmful to the security of the ongoing operation.
Scrambles to monitor Russian military aircraft reportedly saw a peak in 2022, nearly doubling from a year earlier to 570 due to the start of the war in Ukraine. The jump came amid increased activity by the Russian military, and a stronger NATO presence on Europe’s eastern flank meaning more fighter jets available for air surveillance, according to Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, citing DPA.
European NATO members have beefed up their presence in the Baltic countries and on Europe’s Eastern front in response to Russia’s aggression. European air forces contribute a range of aircraft for air policing, including Dutch and Norwegian F-35s, Belgian F-16s, Italian and British Eurofighters, Spanish F/A-18s and French Rafales.
Estonia in November completed major runway renovation works at Ämari Air Base in order to better support the air-policing mission in the Baltics, with the Dutch the first to start operating NATO jets from the renovated base in December. The alliance in June held its first one-on-one dogfighting event at Ramstein Air Base since 1994
Russian military aircraft along NATO’s eastern flank have a history of not transmitting a transponder code indicating their position and altitude, not filing a flight plan or not communicating with air traffic controllers, according to Allied Air Command. Most aerial encounters between NATO and Russian jets are safe and professional, and breaches of NATO airspace by Russian military aircraft are generally rare and of short duration, according to the command.
Rudy Ruitenberg is a Europe correspondent for Defense News. He started his career at Bloomberg News and has experience reporting on technology, commodity markets and politics.
