{"id":52756,"date":"2025-09-24T07:15:56","date_gmt":"2025-09-24T11:15:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/world\/german-defense-boss-urges-prudence-over-airspace-breaches-by-russia\/24\/09\/2025\/"},"modified":"2025-09-24T07:15:56","modified_gmt":"2025-09-24T11:15:56","slug":"german-defense-boss-urges-prudence-over-airspace-breaches-by-russia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/world\/german-defense-boss-urges-prudence-over-airspace-breaches-by-russia\/24\/09\/2025\/","title":{"rendered":"German defense boss urges \u2018prudence\u2019 over airspace breaches by Russia"},"content":{"rendered":"

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BERLIN \u2014 German Minister of Defense Boris Pistorius said calls to shoot down Russian jets that have entered NATO airspace are counterproductive, advocating instead for a policy of restraint following several incursions by Moscow\u2019s warplanes.<\/p>\n

He characterized the violations as dangerous and highlighted the risk of an accident or misunderstanding, but said that in the recent events, there had been no reckless behavior by Russian pilots.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo far, there has been no recognizable aggressiveness in these incidents. But that is a prerequisite for kinetic, physical intervention,\u201d the German defense minister said on Tuesday.<\/p>\n

Pistorius, speaking at a press conference after a meeting with his Swedish counterpart, P\u00e5l Jonson, said that \u201cfrivolous demands to bring something down from the sky\u201d would be unhelpful, adding that NATO should not fall into Russian President Vladimir Putin\u2019s \u201cescalation trap.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cPrudence is not cowardice, but rather responsibility toward your own country and toward peace in Europe,\u201d Pistorius said.<\/p>\n

Calls to shoot down Russian military aircraft entering NATO airspace have popped up in the public discourse since around 20 drones overflew Poland<\/a> earlier in September.<\/p>\n

Czech President Petr Pavel, a former NATO general, argued<\/a> that downing Russian planes should be an option for the alliance, saying that after Turkey shot down a Russian aircraft in 2015, \u201cRussian provocations ceased.\u201d<\/p>\n

NATO<\/a> and many of its member states have separately issued statements reiterating that they are ready to defend their airspace, by force if necessary.<\/p>\n

The German defense chief described how German and Swedish alert squadrons coordinated to handle a Russian reconnaissance aircraft conducting dangerous low-altitude flights over the Baltic Sea over the weekend, ensuring it \u201cquickly left NATO airspace.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sweden is the NATO alliance\u2019s newest member, joining in 2024 after abandoning a longstanding neutrality stance.<\/p>\n

Besides jointly intercepting Russian planes, the two ministers touted their countries\u2019 deepening relationship, including the area of defense.<\/p>\n

Among the upcoming joint procurement projects, Sweden and Germany will buy IRIS-T SLM air defense missiles under the European Sky Shield Initiative umbrella, Pistorius said, as well as snow-going vehicles manufactured in Sweden.<\/p>\n

Swedish defense manufacturers may also be in for a boon with the looming retirement of NATO\u2019s E-3 Sentry airborne warning and control system (AWACS) aircraft based in Germany. This would leave Berlin with a significant capability gap in national airborne early warning and control.<\/p>\n

Pistorius said on Tuesday that the Swedish Saab GlobalEye was \u201cin pole position\u201d to close this capacity gap, though he cautioned that a decision had not yet been made.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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BERLIN — German Minister of Defense Boris Pistorius said calls to shoot down Russian jets that have entered NATO airspace are counterproductive,