NATO Ramps Up Maritime Air Patrols in Baltic Sea

The move follows the damaging of a telecom cable connecting Sweden and Estonia.

Kimberly Johnson

Friday, October 20, 2023 at 01:02 PM ET

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NATO Boeing E-3A AWACS [Courtesy: NATO]

Key Takeaways:

NATO has significantly increased its surveillance and reconnaissance flights in the Baltic Sea region due to reports of possible sabotage to undersea infrastructure.
This includes maritime air patrols, AWACS aircraft, and drones, following damage to a telecom cable between Sweden and Estonia and an earlier Finnish-Estonian pipeline and cable incident.
While Russian-flagged and Chinese vessels were identified near one incident, investigations are ongoing, and NATO emphasizes its commitment to protecting critical infrastructure and ensuring ally safety, which Estonia views as vigilance, not an increased threat.

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NATO has ramped up surveillance and reconnaissance flights in the Baltic Sea region following reports of possible sabotage of undersea infrastructure.

Those additional flights include maritime air patrols, NATO airborne warning and control system (AWACS) aircraft, and drones, the military alliance said. NATO’s fleet of AWACS aircraft are distinctive with their radar dome mounted on the Boeing E-3A fuselage, offering air surveillance, command and control, battle space management, and communications capabilities. A fleet of 14 AWACS aircraft is based at NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen, Germany.