Turkey’s Air Force declares orange alert after alleged airspace violation by a Russian jet

Turkey’s Air Force declares orange alert after alleged airspace violation by a Russian jet –

(Qatar News Agency – Warfiles.ru) – The Turkish Air Force has declared an ‘orange alert’ in key bases around the country, Turkish military sources have said. Turkey’s Foreign Ministry had earlier announced in a statement that a Russian SU-34 fighter jet violated Turkish airspace on Friday. 

The statement added that the Russian craft was repeatedly warned by Turkish air radar units in Russian and English. 

Military sources told the agency that the raised alert level at Turkey’s airbases means “full readiness for anything,” and gives the pilots authority to react to threats without having to ask clearance from higher headquarters. The Milliyet newspaper noted that the Turkish Air Force’s heightened vigilance was thus “semi-officially communicated to the entire world”.

Turkey’s armed forces, Milliyet notes, use three main alert levels: White (low probability of attack), Yellow (probability of attack) and Red (high probability of armed clashes or war). But the air force has an additional, Orange level which formally means that “an armed clash could occur at any moment, and that forces must be ready to attack and defend.”

Red Alert for the Air Force would mean the beginning of combat operations or the need to react to adversaries’ actions, according to TASS.