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Aerospace Forces detect over 980 airborne objects near Russian borders this year

The troops detect and track over 5,000 airborne objects daily, and about a half of them are foreign aircraft

© ITAR-TASS / Igor Zhuravlev

MOSCOW, December 14. /TASS/. Servicemen of Russia’s Aerospace Forces have detected and tracked over 980,000 foreign airborne objects near the Russian borders this year, said Maj. Gen. Andrei Koban, the commander of the Radio-Technical Troops of the Russian Aerospace Forces.

"In 2018, on-duty combat units of the Radio-Technical Troops detected and tracked over 980,000 foreign airborne objects. This includes about 3,000 foreign warplanes, with over 1,000 of them being reconnaissance planes," the general said.

He added that the troops detect and track over 5,000 airborne objects daily, and about a half of them are foreign aircraft.

According to Koban, on-duty units were placed on the highest level of alert more than 4,000 times this year.

This week alone, Russian fighter jets were scrambled two times to intercept foreign aircraft near the Russian border, according to the Russian Defense Ministry’s infographics published in its official Zvezda daily.

In the reported period, 16 aircraft were conducting aerial surveillance close to the Russian territory. No border violations were registered.

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