In a brief statement this morning, Turkish military authorities have admitted that:
- *EIGHT TURKISH F-16 JETS TRACKED RUSSIAN PLANE IN BLACK SEA
- *TURKEY SCRAMBLED F-16'S YDAY AS RUSSIAN PLANE NEARED BORDER
Which appears odd given this was a "military exercise" that we are sure the Russians had cleared with neighboring nations that it would be entering their airspace. The Turkish air force has been busy recently following the failed 'drunk' Sochi hijacking and Syrian intercepts.
Via Reuters, [5]
The Turkish Air Force scrambled eight F-16 fighter jets after a Russian surveillance plane flew parallel along its Black Sea coast, the military said on Tuesday, amid increased tensions between Russia and the West over Ukraine.
The incident occurred on Monday and the Russian plane remained in international airspace, according to a statement on the website of the military General Staff.
Ukraine's Crimea peninsula, which juts into the north of the Black Sea, is at the center of the current standoff between Russia and Ukraine's new pro-Western government. NATO member Turkey forms the southern coastline of the Black Sea.