Tuesday's downing of a Russian Su-24 by the Turkish
Airspace violations across the world have increased dramatically in recent years, especially in Europe. NATO reported over 500 interceptions of aircraft in 2014, a figure four times higher than the previous year and reminiscent of the height of the Cold War. 85 percent of the aircraft intercepted in 2014 were Russian with encounters proving peaceful and 'almost routine', something which may well change in light of Tuesday's events.
Interestingly, the issue of airspace violations has been a near-constant flashpoint between Turkey and another NATO member, Greece, for years. This is due to a dispute over the sovereignty of islands in the Aegean, as well as other factors such as the delimitation of territorial waters and national airspace. The latter has resulted in frequent confrontations between the air forces of both countries. These have been known to turn aggressive, resulting in casualties on both sides.
Even though Turkey has outlined its tough stance and rules of engagement when it comes to intruding aircraft in its own skies, it has hugely increased its own violations of airspace claimed by Greece over the past three years. Data recorded by the Greek military has shown that Turkish aircraft violated its claimed airspace 2,244 times in 2014. By October of this year, Turkish aircraft had made 1,443 intrusions with the financially-weakened Greek military stuggling to respond.
One of the most violent encounters high above the Aegean occurred in 1996 when a Greek Mirage 2000 shot down a Turkish F-16. The Turkish pilot died in the incident while the co-pilot was rescued. Another serious event occurred in 2006 when Greek and Turkish F-16s collided, resulting in the death of the Greek pilot.
*Click below to enlarge (charted by Statista)