Bloomberg: Turkey sends AWACS reconnaissance plane to Lithuania after Russian violations
Turkey has deployed an advanced AWACS radar surveillance aircraft to Lithuania, signaling that NATO is stepping up its defense in the Baltic region following Russia's violations of its airspace. This was reported by Bloomberg, citing unnamed Turkish officials with knowledge of the matter.
On Monday, Turkey sent one airborne radar surveillance and control aircraft to Lithuania, capable of detecting low-flying drones and other objects that miss ground-based radars, the sources said. The mission will last until Thursday, September 25, they said.
The temporary deployment is a gesture of solidarity with other NATO members, the sources added. The Turkish Defense Ministry declined to comment .
The move comes amid attempts by NATO members to coordinate a response to Russian aircraft and drones intruding into their airspace, with partners openly contradicting each other, journalists noted.
The article states that Russian planes and helicopters have been violating the airspace of NATO member states from time to time over the years.
Military experts see these incursions as a symbolic demonstration of disregard for the Alliance's borders and, in the case of former Soviet republics such as Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia, as a signal that Moscow does not consider them independent states. Such incidents have become more frequent since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
AWACS (Airborne Warning and Control System) is an airborne long-range radar detection and control system. It is designed to detect and track air, land and sea targets at long range, as well as to coordinate the actions of its aircraft and air defense forces.
Main functions detecting enemy aircraft before they approach ground radar range, guiding fighters to the target, managing air operations, and creating an "over-the-horizon" radar field.
The most famous example is the Boeing E-3 Sentry AWACS (based on the Boeing 707), which is used by NATO members.
- On September 19, Russian MiG-31 fighters violated Estonian airspace near Tallinn. In total, they were over Estonia for about 12 minutes.
- On the same day, Russian fighter jets violated the security zone of the Polish Petrobaltic drilling platform in the Baltic Sea. More than a week before, two dozen Russian UAVs violated Polish airspace.
- On September 22, Tusk said that Poland would shoot down objects that clearly violate its airspace. The British Foreign Secretary at the UN said she was ready to repel the offending aircraft.
- Macron believes that NATO states should strengthen their response in case of new provocations by Russia, but not open fire.
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