Why NATO did not shoot down MiGs over Estonia: explanation from a retired US Air Force colonel
The rules of the North Atlantic Alliance do not provide for the destruction of aircraft unless they show hostile intentions. About this, commenting on the Russian violation of Estonian airspace on September 19, colonel Cedric Layton, retired U.S. Air Force said for text LIGA.net.
"The Turks shot down [the Russian Su-24] with their own planes, but Estonia has no planes of its own. In response to the three Russian MiG-31s, NATO brought up Finnish and Italian F-35s [the latter are based in Estonia] to intercept them," the former military officer said.
Layton noted that NATO rules of engagement do not provide for the shooting down of aircraft unless they demonstrate hostile intent.
According to a former military officer, Russian MiGs over Estonia were on a "mission" to test the effectiveness of NATO's air defense.
In November 2015, the Air Force of Turkey, which is also a NATO member, was launched, destroyed a Russian Su-24 frontline bomber when it violated the country's airspace near the Syrian border. The aircraft was part of the Russian group that was bombing Syria. The incident resulted in the death of the aircraft's crew commander.
In response to the downing of this ship, Russian dictator Putin introduced sanctions against Turkey. However, the following year, the aggressor country began to cancel these limitations.
- on September 23, US President Trump called for to shoot down Russian aircraft, violating NATO airspace.
- Earlier, prime minister of Poland Tusk promised to shoot down objects that violate countries airspace, and British foreign secretary declared its readiness to repel offending aircraft.
- Also in favor of responding militarily to Russian provocations in the sky were the Lithuanian minister of defense and the president of the Czech Republic. The head of Ukrainian diplomacy also called for "neutralizing", rather than escorting targets.
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