Open source

Two NATO fighters scrambled on alert on Thursday, as the Russian bomber flew close to the border of Romanian airspace over the Black Sea. The RAF, British Royal Air Force reported that on the official website.

'Operating from the Romanian Mihail Kogalniceanu Air Base near Constanta on the Black Sea coast, the RAF Typhoon's responded to the suspected bomber aircraft heading west towards NATO airspace', the message said.

One of the RAF pilots who was on alert duty at the time, specified that the Russian plane did not violate the said airspace, so the command ordered to patrol the skies 'as a deterrent'.

The RAF mission in Romania is part of NATO’s Assurance Measures introduced in 2014. At the time, the Alliance started implementing these Assurance Measures with the goal of demonstrating the collective resolve of Allies and the defensive nature of NATO.

As we reported earlier, Sea Breeze 2018 drills took place in the Black Sea and southern Ukraine. The drills were held in the northwestern part of the Black Sea, in seaports, airports and firing ranges of Odesa, Mykolaiv and Kherson regions. Rear Admiral of Ukraine's Navy Oleksiy Neyizhpapa and U.S. Navy Captain Matthew Liman were the co-commanding officers in charge of the exercise.

This year's Sea Breeze involved 30 vessels from naval forces of 19 countries, including a Turkish submarine. An important feature of the exercise was that the multinational staff would be coordinating the actions of naval, air and ground forces from USS Mount Whitney, the flagship of the 6th U.S. Navy Fleet.