Air Intercepts Jump; Large Increase Linked To Russian Actions

The NATO alliance says its members have been reporting a significant increase in airspace violations and fighter jet scrambles to intercept foreign aircraft, reports the Guardian (U.K.).

NATO members scrambled more than 500 times across Europe in 2014, a fourfold increase over the previous year, according to alliance statistics. Nearly 85 percent of these were needed to intercept Russian aircraft, says NATO.

So far in 2015, NATO has reported more than 300 intercept missions. ...