NATO reports ‘unusual’ spike in Russian military flightsOctober 30, 2014 - 08:17 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - NATO on Wednesday, Oct 29, reported an "unusual" spike in Russian military flights over the Black, Baltic and North seas and the Atlantic Ocean during the past two days, according to the Associated Press. Alliance military spokesman Lt. Col. Jay Janzen that four groups made up of Tu-95 Bear H strategic bombers, MiG-31 fighters and other Russian warplanes had been conducting large-scale maneuvers in international airspace. He said Norwegian, British, Portuguese, German, Danish and Turkish fighters were scrambled in response, as well as planes from the non-NATO nations of Finland and Sweden. No incidents were reported, but Janzen said the maneuvers were unusual in their size. He said NATO was still tracking some of the Russian planes as of mid-afternoon Wednesday. According to NATO officials, alliance pilots have conducted over 100 intercepts of Russian aircraft this year, or about three times more than in 2013. Brynjar Stordal, spokesman for the operational command of Norway's armed forces, said Norwegian F-16s intercepted one formation of Bear bombers and tankers west of Norway. The tankers turned back north, he said, but the bombers kept flying south all the way to international airspace west of Portugal and Spain. "We've had several of these incidents, around 40 a year," Stordal said. "What sets this apart from some of the missions we see from the Russian side is the formation was a little bit larger than we usually see and they went a bit further south than they usually do." Related links: Top stories Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". The earthquake caused a temporary blackout, damaged many buildings and closed a number of rural roads. Partner news | Henrikh Mkhitaryan wins Serie A title with Inter Inter Milan midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan admits that the team have long been imagining clinching Serie A against AC Milan. Armenia not going to war over Karabakh, says Pashinyan Armenia is not preparing to fight a war for Nagorno Karabakh, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said in an interview. Caring for nature, we have started with ourselves - Team Telecom Armenia Team Telecom Armenia summarized the work undertaken within the company in the direction of environmental protection. Residents of border Armenian villages continue protests Residents of several Armenian communities in Tavush province continued protests into April 22 morning. |