NATO Jets Intercept Russian Warplanes*

By RAPHAEL G. SATTER
The Associated Press
Friday, September 14, 2007; 2:06 PM

LONDON -- British and Norwegian jets intercepted Russian military
aircraft on Friday after they breached NATO airspace near the U.K. and
Finland, defense officials said.

Finland's prime minister demanded an explanation from Moscow.
Interception of Russian warplanes in NATO patrolled-airspace has become
increasingly common since the Kremlin ordered strategic bombers to carry
out long-range missions for the first time since the breakup of the
Soviet Union.

Russia said it had set up a commission to investigate the Finnish
claims, but an official insisted the aircraft had flown over neutral
territory.

British fighter jets intercepted two Russian long-range bombers flying
in NATO airspace and shadowed them until they charged course, Britain's
defense ministry said, without revealing precisely where the incursion
took place. The two Tu-160 "Blackjack" bombers were initially
intercepted by Norwegian F16s, defense officials said.

In Finland, authorities said an Ilyushin-76 transporter plane flew about
three miles into Finnish airspace for three minutes.

"These kinds of (violations) must not happen," Finnish Prime Minister
Matti Vanhanen said. "And when they do happen, then they need to be
sorted out between the countries in question."

Alexander Drobyshevsky, a Russian air force official, said his
government was investigating Finland's claims.

"The air force command has put together a commission to examine
objective flight data for this plane and to check how the flight had
been prepared and how it was conducted," Drobyshevsky told the Interfax
news agency.

But the ITAR-Tass news agency quoted Drobyshevsky as saying Russian
planes had "flown over neutral waters without approaching air borders of
any foreign nation."

International airspace along the southern Finnish coast is narrow, and
officials expected violations, military officials in Finland said.

"There's a lot of Russian airborne activity above the Gulf of Finland,
especially between Kaliningrad and the Russian mainland," military
spokesman Marko Luotonen said. Russian planes, mostly military
transporters, frequently fly between the Baltic port enclave of
Kaliningrad and bases near the city St. Petersburg.

Last month, Russian bombers approached the Pacific Island of Guam _ home
to a major U.S. military base _ for the first time since the Cold War.
In July, Norwegian F-16s were also scrambled when Tu-95s headed south
along the Norwegian coast in international air space.

"The re-emergence of long-range flights from Russia is something the
Russians are entitled to do, all countries have the right to maintain or
upgrade and exercise their defense capabilities," Britain's military
said in a statement. "The motivation behind any Russian military
activity is a matter for the Russian government."

Last year, Russia apologized for violations of Finnish airspace,
following about a dozen such incidents over a period of two years.

Similar complaints of air violations have been made by Finland's
southern neighbors, Estonia and the other Baltic states. In October
2005, a Russian fighter jet crashed in Lithuania.

___

Associated Press Writers Matti Huuhtanen, in Helsinki, Finland, and
Vladmimir Isachenkov, in Moscow, contributed to this report.