Tracks Dozens Of Foreign Spy Planes And Drones At The Border Over The Week, Russia Deploys Fighter Jets

Illustration of a Russian fighter jet with foreign aircraft. (Wikimedia Commons/RAF MOD)

JAKARTA - Dozens of spy planes and drones have been tracked on Russian radar in the border region, with two fighter jets having "escorted" the US spy plane in the Black Sea.

Russian radars have tracked more than 30 foreign aircraft conducting aerial reconnaissance near Russia's national borders over the past week, the Russian Defense Ministry newspaper Krasnaya Zvezda reported.

The newspaper's infographic shows that 31 foreign spy planes and six drones have carried out aerial reconnaissance along Russia's borders in the past week.

Russian air defense rapid reaction warning force fighter jets have been deployed twice over the past week to prevent foreign aircraft from encroaching on Russia's national borders. All flights by foreign spy planes are tracked by Russian radar stations.

However, so far no violation of Russia's state borders has been allowed, the newspaper said.

On Friday, Russian Sukhoi Su-30SM and Sukhoi Su-27 fighter jets were deployed to escort two US reconnaissance aircraft approaching Russia's border over the Black Sea, the Russian Center for National Defense Management said.

According to the agency, Russia's airspace control system detected two aerial targets over the Black Sea that were approaching Russia's state border on December 3.

"A Su-30 and Su-27 fighter jets of the Southern Military District's air defense rapid reaction warning force were deployed to identify and intercept the targets", the agency said.

"The crew of the Russian fighter jet identified them as RC-135 and CL-600 Artemis reconnaissance aircraft of the US Air Force, and escorted them over the Black Sea", he continued.

After the US spy planes pulled away from the border, the Russian warplanes safely returned to their base airfield.

"The flight of Russian warplanes is carried out by international rules using the airspace. No violation of the borders of the Russian state is permitted", said the National Defense Control Center.