User:Berkantagan/sandbox

The 2015 Turkish-Russian aerial disputes describe a series of Russian incursions and violations into Turkish Airspace over the Syrian border sparking an interception and armed confrontation between Turkish Air Force and Russian Air Force fighter jets. The incident so far is seen as one of the most serious and escalating of the Syrian Civil War. The first 2 incursions happened on October 3rd followed by a third incursion on October 4th and a prevented incursion on October 5th witch was later revealed by NATO to possibly be a Syrian Air Force Jet according to Military analysts..

Time Line

 * On October 4th 2015 a Russian Air Force Su-30 crossed into Turkish Airspace over the Hatay Province and was intercepted by Turkish two F-16's that were patrolling the border in the vicinity. Russia claims the incident was a navigational error caused by bad weather that just lasted a few seconds while the Turkish Military says it lasted several minutes and that the intruding aircraft put Turkish jets under missile lock for 5 minutes and 40 seconds prompting the Turks to respond in kind.
 * On October 4th 2015 a Russian Air Force Su-24 crossed into Turkish Airspace over the Hatay Province hours after the first incident. Russia rejects this incident and says it would "look into it". A statement released from the NATO says these actions seem to be deliberate.
 * On October 5th 2015 a MiG-29 either Syrian or Russian, was prevented from crossing into Turkish Airspace by at-least 8 Turkish F-16's on Combat air patrol duty. This sparked the unidentified aircraft to put one of the F-16's on missile lock while Syrian Air Defense SAM site installations on the ground put the rest of the Turkish combat jets on lock. The total incident lasting 4 minutes and 30 seconds.
 * On October 10th 2015, three Turkish F-16's flying patrol missions near the Syrian border were put under missile lock by an unidentified MiG-29 resulting in the Turkish jets to shoot down the hostile aircraft. Details of the incident remain unclear.

International Response

 * Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan lashed out saying Russia would be "held accountable" for any "undesired incident" that may occur and that the Turkish Air Force would treat any further violations as an "enemy" inferring a possible shoot down. Further more the Russian ambassador to Turkey was summoned twice over each incident.
 * Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu said the violation was a "mistake" and had been cleared with the Russian ministry despite the Turkish Militaries statements claiming they were deliberate and aggressive.
 * NATO secretary general Jens Stoltenberg said the incidents don't appear to be an accident and that the violation of Turkey's airspace is unacceptable and irresponsible, at an emergency NATO meeting held in Brussels about the issue.
 * U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry stated that these incursions are a serious risk of escalating tensions and could of resulted in a shoot-down.
 * U.S. Defense Secretary Ashton Carter condemned the incursion saying Turkish Airspace is also NATO airspace saying Russian behavior is irresponsible and unprofessional.
 * Turkish Chief of General Staff Hulusi Akar said the Military after these initial incidents would respond in kind to its rules of engagement treating anything anything to approach its borders as an "hostile"