Every country has air sovereignty, giving them the right to engage an aircraft that enters their airspace. The 1944 Chicago Convention explains their rights.
Every once in a while, one nation’s air asset finds its way into another country’s airspace, which can be problematic. During the Cold War, it was incredibly common for the United States to send its high-flying, super-fast SR-71 Blackbird into Soviet airspace to gather intelligence, but the practice eventually gave way to satellites. However, it does still happen. In 2025, it occurred several times to NATO nations, pushing many in the West to wonder, ‘Can a nation react violently when its airspace is breached?’
The answer to that question is an absolute yes — every nation has what is called air sovereignty, and it’s backed up by a treaty. Air sovereignty is a country’s fundamental right to govern the use of its airspace, which involves allowing passenger planes from other countries and other forms of air traffic. The primary treaty that deals with this is the 1944 Chicago Convention, known as the Convention on International Civil Aviation. It regulates what a nation can and can’t do regarding its airspace, and like other treaties, it’s been updated over the years as new technology arises.
In addition to the international treaty, each nation has its own laws regarding its airspace, but one thing is clear: it’s not okay for one country to violate another’s. In 2023, a Chinese spy balloon found its way into U.S. airspace, resulting in the first «kill» by an F-22 Raptor. In Europe, the Russo-Ukrainian War bled over into both Poland and Romania, when airspace incursions resulted in what can only be described as international incidents.
