NATO fighter jets scrambled 570 times to monitor Russian military flights in international airspace last year.
That meant the number of such intercepts, as they are known, nearly doubled compared to in 2021, a NATO spokesman confirmed following a report by the Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland (RND) German media group.
However, NATO sources say the spike was not only due to increased activity by the Russian air force, but also to a stronger NATO presence on the eastern flank due to Moscow's war on Ukraine, which meant significantly more aircraft available for air surveillance there.
Most of the missions took place over the Baltic Sea.
Commenting on the intercepts, a NATO official told RND that the vast majority of air encounters were "safe and professional."
However, on a few occasions, Russian military aircraft conducted risky manoeuvres near unarmed allied reconnaissance flying in international airspace, the spokesperson said.
"Russian military aircraft also overflew NATO ships on routine patrol in the Baltic Sea in an unsafe manner in November. Allies have used diplomatic channels to raise their concerns to Russian officials about these incidents."
The intercepts involve flights by NATO fighter jets, during which they determine whether a particular aircraft poses a threat or not. If necessary, this could then be stopped by force.
Most of the times NATO jets scrambled, Russian aircraft were involved; Only on rare occasions were other states' military aircraft, or passenger or cargo aircraft that were not immediately identifiable involved.
Russia's war on Ukraine has created the most dangerous security situation in Europe in decades, the official said: "NATO stands united. We remain vigilant."
"Our strengthened presence in the eastern part of the Alliance ensures that there is no room for misunderstanding in Moscow about our readiness to defend all Allies," the official said.
NATO jets scrambled a total of 290 times in response to flights by Russian military aircraft in 2021.
