AROUND-THE-CLOCK NATO AIR PATROLS

摘要

NATO has nearly doubled the number of military jets on alert across Europe amid concerns that Russia's reckless flying in international airspace could escalate with its war in Ukraine. The alliance's move to constantly guard its eastern edge highlights how rapidly the security situation has evolved in and out of Ukraine over the past two weeks, as well as the stakes of NATO's biggest test since its founding in 1949. More than 60 NATO planes are on "high alert" at all times to await possible airspace violations, the alliance said in December. That's grown to more than 100 combat aircraft now rotating through the sky in shifts. The mission of the fighter aircraft - like American F-15s, F-16s, F/A-18s, F-35s, NATO Eurofighters and more - has shifted from dispatching jets as needed to escort uncooperative Russian pilots, to "actively defending allied airspace," NATO's Allied Air Command spokesperson Jonathan Bailey said March 4.