Nato rewrites rulebook to make it easier to shoot down Russian jets | UK | News

Military alliance bosses are working on radical new regulations that would pave the way for Moscow’s warplanes to be shot down.

Negotiations held behind closed doors are focused on creating unified protocols for confronting enemy aircraft. Senior officials are pushing for Russian warplanes loaded with ground attack weapons to fly over allied territory, making them legitimate targets.

Military planners focus on weapons payload and flight trajectory

A source with knowledge of the discussions said the “weaponry and trajectory” of any aircraft would be key determining factors for the perceived threat.

The controversial plan faces scrutiny from defense ministers who meet for tough NATO talks on Wednesday as the continent grapples with increasing dangers from Kremlin planes and drones.

Leading figures of the Alliance, including Donald Trump, defended the explosion of Russian planes that violated NATO’s territorial borders. But some member states have concerns that adopting a more aggressive stance risks triggering an armed conflict with a nuclear-armed enemy.

Top US commander privately defends unified air defense network

US General and NATO Supreme Allied Commander Europe Alexus Grynkewich specifically called for the creation of a “unified, single air and missile defense system” to facilitate the response to future provocations by Moscow.

Such an overhaul would give the alliance’s commander the authority to eliminate so-called “national alerts” that could impede the ability to use lethal force, insiders have revealed.

Patchwork of participation protocols creates confusion

Individual member countries currently follow contrasting engagement protocols when flying missions under the NATO flag. Some countries require their airmen to visually identify suspected hazards before opening fire, while others allow actions based solely on radar intelligence.

This discrepancy triggered secret talks on the threshold for shooting down a Kremlin jet entering allied airspace.

Just last month, the military alliance held two emergency Article 4 sessions following separate Russian attacks on Estonian and Polish territory.

Italian stealth fighters scrambled to thwart MiG attack

When three Russian MiG fighter jets entered Estonian airspace, modern Italian F-35s moved to intercept them.

Kremlin warplanes were ordered to withdraw before they shadowed international borders, in what military sources described as a “textbook” response to the incident.

General Grynkewich assessed that the jets did not pose a threat to the alliance worthy of armed intervention.

Later intelligence analysis revealed that the aircraft carried air-to-air weapons and never attempted to target NATO interceptors approaching their positions.

Ground attack missiles could trigger lethal response

According to the scenarios discussed in NATO, if the Russian jets were carrying air-to-surface missiles or were on a more aggressive flight path, a decision could be made to engage them.

General Grynkewich faces another obstacle in combining three separate air defense operations along the alliance’s eastern border.

In addition to the Eastern Watch, which was launched after Russian drones violated Polish airspace, the Baltic Watch has also been in continuous operation since January.

Headquartered in Poland, the alliance’s training and support operation against Ukraine maintains its special air defense component.

Commander grapples with fragmented command structure

Dozens of NATO allies are participating in each of these missions separately, leaving General Grynkewich with the headache of managing multiple national rules of engagement in what has been described internally as a “patchwork” mission.

Berlin, Madrid and Rome are thought to be at the more risk-averse end of the spectrum, despite their significant contributions to each operation.

Top alliance official backs lifting national restrictions

“It makes sense to try to create a more unified, single, integrated air and missile defense system, and in order to do that it needs to get rid of as many national alerts as possible,” a senior NATO diplomat said. “We all need to look sharply and critically at whether these warnings still make sense.”

Brussels will see defense ministers discuss combining three operations to give General Grynkewich more operational leeway during Wednesday’s meeting.

NATO secretary general Mark Rutte said the talks would “further strengthen our deterrence and defense posture, including recent events.”

Baltic states demand improved defense posture

Tallinn, with the support of other Baltic capitals, is demanding that current air police operations be transformed into comprehensive air defense missions.

Risk-averse financiers have warned that such a framework could only be activated in wartime conditions, as it would require closing airspace to commercial aviation and destroying Kremlin jets that cross borders without hesitation.

Estonian politician criticizes weak response to sovereignty violations

Raimond Kaljulaid, who heads Estonia’s delegation to the NATO parliamentary assembly, said: “When you say you will use force only if there is a direct military threat, you are actually saying that under certain conditions violations of our airspace will have no consequences. This is weak behavior.”

“Instead, our public stance should be that we have the right to respond as we see fit, and Russia should know that next time our response will perhaps be something else.

“The idea that our response depends on how the Russians behave (threatening or not) could basically mean that you can move a tank across the border if it doesn’t pose an immediate threat. Of course, that’s ridiculous. We either have borders or we don’t.”

Approximately 30 preventions were launched in one month

During June, NATO F-35s or F-16s engaged 29 times against Russian military activities in the Baltic Sea, the Copenhagen military said on Tuesday.