Contents tagged with Baltic Sea

  • US aircraft conducted reconnaissance mission over Russia's Baltic Sea territory

    On Monday, a US Air Force plane conducted a routine reconnaissance mission near the Russian border at Kaliningrad, according to western sites that track the flights of military aircraft, Interfax reported.

    According to the information, US Air Force Strategic Reconnaissance Aircraft RC-135W, tail number 62-4138 and call sign DERN40, took off from an airbase in Mildenhall, England and approached the reconnaissance mission from the southwest over Poland. Flying at an altitude of 30,800 ft (9,400 …

  • Finland holds large naval drills in the Baltic Sea

    The MEPU-16 naval drills, which are the main drills conducted by the Finnish Naval Forces in 2016, started on Wednesday in the Gulf of Finland and the Archipelago Sea, as reported by the Finnish Broadcasting Company. 2,700 people, including 900 professional soldiers, will take part in the naval drills.

    The Commander of the Finnish Navy, Mika Niemi, stated that there are approximately 1,400 recruits and 400 reservists taking part in the exercises. In addition about 30 warships, including a Hä …

  • NATO has rejected Russia's proposal concerning flights over the Baltic Sea

    NATO declined Russia's proposal to always have the transponders turned on when flying over the Baltic region. This was reported by The Wall Street Journal, citing sources in the Alliance.

    “This proposal will do little to improve air safety and will not help in stopping Russian aircraft from flying dangerously close to the ships and aircraft of the Western allies,” the source said.

    Moscow discussed this issue during the Russia-NATO Council meeting in July. Then, NATO Secretary General Jens …

  • The Foreign Ministers of Finland and Sweden agree on the need for a common approach towards Russia

    The Swedish Minister for Foreign Affairs, Margot Wallström, and the Finnish Minister for Foreign Affairs, Timo Soini, met in Stockholm and discussed, in particular, Russia's proposal to hold consultations on the security of the Baltic Sea region. According to the Ministers, the country was encouraged to follow a united approach regarding the Russian Federation, YLE reports.

    Soini was skeptical about holding the bilateral consultations with Russia regarding security issues in the Baltic Sea …

  • Shoygu orders Russian aircraft to fly over the Baltic with transponders turned on

    The Head of the Russian Ministry of Defense, Sergey Shoygu, ordered that the Russian Air Force ensure air traffic security of its fighting aircraft over international waters. 

    “A number of relevant organizational and technical measures are being developed, including the Russian Air Force flying missions with their transponders activated,” the Russia Defense Ministry press and information office reports. Thus, flight control services in the Baltic States will be able to identify Russian …