The North Atlantic Alliance has increased the activity of its combat - and not just reconnaissance-aircraft near the borders of Russia, Sergey Surovikin, the commander-in-chief of the Russian aerospace forces, stated on Friday.
"Previously, we recorded mainly the actions of reconnaissance aircraft, but recently the number of combat aircraft flights has increased," he said at a briefing.
According to the General, only from August 28 to September 4, US bomber aircraft made 10 single and group flights in the airspace of Western and Eastern Europe, as well as over the adjacent sea areas.
In general, Surovikin recalled, over the past August, NATO reconnaissance aircraft have become more than 30% more likely to appear near the borders of Russia. According to his assessment, the "intensity of the use of reconnaissance aircraft" of the Alliance has increased "significantly" recently.
In August, the Russian aerospace forces aircraft flew 27 times to intercept foreign reconnaissance aircraft over the Baltic, Barents, Black and Okhotsk seas, the General said.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
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Based on materials from RIA Novosti