A NATO plane follows and dodges Russia in the Baltic Sea

The plane of the French naval patrol quickly descended through the clouds, rising 900 feet above the Baltic Sea, virtually browsing the waves. The target was a Russian warship, which appeared on the side of the plane, dark gray against a light gray horizon.

The plane, an Atlantic 2 of the French Navy, was designed to chase the enemy’s submarines and other naval crafts, but that day, its torpedo berry was empty and its only weapons were a high resolution camera and other sophisticated surveillance instruments. The objective was to observe and be seen observed.

“We have to show that we are here,” said Romain, a lieutenant-commander and member of the plane crew.

Never completely quiet, the Baltic Sea, with a coastline strongly militarized by the Navy of Northern Europe and Russia, has become an increasingly tense theater in the conflict between Moscow and the West. Later in the patrol, the Russian forces tried to blur the GPS of the plane, and at one point, another Russian warship locked up on the plane with radar, a warning that he could open fire. Russian naval ships and a submarine were visible in the sea below.

But the main reason why the French naval aircraft was on water underwater. Three times in the past year and a half, commercial ships are suspected of having damaged critical submarine communication cables and a Baltic Sea pipeline. European officials fear that these are acts of sabotage, the Kremlin considered as the main suspect, although finding tangible evidence has proven to be difficult.