NATO has not informed
Russia on the incident with the unauthorized launch of an air-to-air missile by
a Spanish fighter jet over Estonia
BRUSSELS, August 8.
/TASS/. NATO has not informed Russia’s top brass via the existing military
channels on the incident with the unauthorized launch of an air-to-air missile
by a Spanish fighter jet over Estonia, an official in the alliance’s military
structure told TASS on condition of anonymity on Wednesday.
"At the present
moment, we cannot confirm the existence of any contacts between the NATO
Operations Command and the Russian military on this incident. However, after
saying this, I will add that many civilian and military organizations play
their role in ensuring international air security. We cannot say anything more
on this incident as long as the investigation is going on," the official
said.
Regret and assistance
NATO Acting
Spokesperson Piers Cazalet told TASS earlier on Wednesday that NATO Secretary
General Jens Stoltenberg had expressed his regret and readiness to provide
assistance to Estonia in probing the incident.
The acting
spokesperson confirmed that according to NATO’s official information, "On
7 August 2018, a Spanish Eurofighter on NATO Baltic Air Policing duty
accidentally fired an air-to-air missile in Estonian airspace. No damage has
been reported."
Since 2004, when the
Baltic states were admitted to NATO, the alliance has launched the Baltic Air
Policing Mission and intends to continue patrol flights in that region, the
acting spokesperson said.
The missile could
have reached Russia
According to the
Estonian Defense Forces, the incident with the accidental launch of an
AMRAAM-type air-to-air missile occurred at 3:44 p.m. Moscow time on August 7 in
a practice area over the community of Pangodi.
As the Estonian
Defense Forces said, the missile’s self-destruct mode was activated to destroy
it while it was still in the air. However, despite this, the missile could have
still fallen on the ground 40 km north of Tartu.
According to Estonian
Air Force Commander Riivo Valge, the missile’s flight radius is 100 km. Upon
its deviation towards the eastern border, the missile could have theoretically
fallen "on the other side of Lake Chudskoye on the territory of the
Russian Federation," he said.
The Latvian national
armed forces stated on Wednesday they had no grounds to believe that the
missile could have fallen on the territory of Latvia.
The missile is 3.7
meters long and has a diameter of 18 cm. It is armed with a warhead.
The incident is being
probed by the Estonian Air Force, the Spanish Air Force and NATO experts. Three
light Robinson helicopters of the Estonian Air Force are combing the area to
find the missile and an An-2 plane is ready to join the operation. Estonian Prime
Minister Juri Ratas has warned the country’s population against attempts to
find the missile independently.
