Russian Jet Nearly Collides With U.S. Surveillance Aircraft In ‘Reckless’ Intercept

[Ryan Ruck]

Russian Jet Nearly Collides With U.S. Surveillance Aircraft In ‘Reckless’ Intercept In Asia

June 3, 2014
By Bill Gertz

A Russian Su-27 jet flew dangerously close to a U.S. reconnaissance plane over the Pacific northeast recently in an aerial clash not seen since the Cold War.

An Air Force RC-135 electronic intelligence jet was flying a surveillance run some 60 miles off the Russian Far East coast, north of Japan, on April 23 when the incident occurred, according to defense officials familiar with the incident.

The Su-27 flew to follow the RC-135, and at one point rolled sideways to reveal its air-to-air missile before flying within 100 feet of the cockpit in an attempt to unnerve the crew.

The showdown was video-recorded by the aircrew.

Pentagon spokesman Col. Steven Warren said the Su-27 intercepted the RC-135U as it conducted a routine surveillance mission in international airspace over the Sea of Okhotsk during the afternoon of April 23.

“The Su-27 approached the RC-135U and crossed the nose of the U.S. aircraft within approximately 100 feet,” Warren told the Free Beacon in a brief statement. “Senior department leaders have communicated our concerns directly to the Russian military.”

A defense official said the incident was a “reckless intercept” and one of the most dangerous aerial encounters for a U.S. reconnaissance aircraft since the Cold War.

The RC-135 flight was part of Air Force efforts to increase regional spying under the U.S. pivot to Asia. Last month, two Global Hawk drones were deployed to Japan for spy missions in the region. Other electronic spy aircraft also have increased flights in recent weeks.

The RC-135U is code named “Combat Sent” and specifically collects electronic intelligence from radar emissions. The surveillance flight was collecting data on the increasingly-capable air defense systems in the region. A normal crew for the aircraft includes two pilots, two navigators, three systems engineers, 10 electronic warfare officers and six area specialists.

Retired Air Force Lt. Gen. Thomas McInerney, a former commander in Alaska, voiced concerns about the provocative Russian action.

“The dangerous intercept by a Russian Su-27 is far worse than we experienced during the Cold War,” McInerney told the Washington Free Beacon. “In my four plus years as the Alaskan [North American Aerospace Defense] region commander at the height of the Cold War, we never saw such recklessness by the USSR.”

McInerney added: “President Putin sees weakness in the current American leadership and is trying to intimidate us. It apparently does not bother this administration.”

The U.S.-Russian aerial close call came two days after Japanese warplanes intercepted two Russian military aircraft conducting anti-submarine patrols near Japan’s northern island of Hokkaido.

Kenneth deGraffenreid, former White House intelligence adviser during the Reagan administration, said the aerial encounter could have turned deadly, based on Moscow’s history of using force in illegal actions against aircraft transiting international airspace.

According to deGraffenreid, the Russians since the late 1940s have shot down 70 U.S. aircraft. That figure includes the Russian shoot down of Korean Air Lines Flight 007 in 1983, killing all 269 passengers.

“This has been Russian policy for over 70 years and the Russians are reverting to a very deadly and ugly practice of the Cold War,” he said.

Disclosure of the U.S.-Russian aerial faceoff comes as the Obama administration last week approved Russia’s use of upgraded sensors on aircraft used to overfly sensitive U.S. and allied military installations in Europe under the 1992 Open Skies Treaty.

“After careful consideration the United States has decided to certify the electro-optical sensor for the Russian Federation’s AN-30 Open Skies Treaty aircraft, which is used in Open Skies flights over Europe,” the administration said in a statement.

The upgraded sensors were opposed by Congress and U.S. military and intelligence officials over concerns the new equipment will increase the national security risk posed by Russian aerial spying.

The certification, under consideration for the past several months, is the latest round in a battle between House Republicans and the administration over the Russian spy flights.

The fiscal 2015 defense authorization bill contains a provision that would prohibit using any funds to certify the upgraded Russian aircraft sensors.

The provision blocks certification unless the Pentagon and intelligence leaders certify to Congress that the digital equipment “will not enhance the capability or potential of the Russian Federation to gather intelligence that poses an unacceptable risk to the national security of the United States.”

It also would link new equipment approval under Open Skies to a requirement that Russia is no longer illegally occupying Ukrainian territory and is no longer violating the 1987 Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces Treaty.

“The committee is committed to effective and complete compliance with the Treaty on Open Skies, provided such compliance is not allowed to become a threat to the national security of the United States,” the bill says.

The White House, in a statement of policy, said it “strongly objects” to the congressional restrictions.

“This limitation would infringe on the ability of the United States to implement its rights and obligations under the treaty,” the Office of Management and Budget said May 19. “A prohibition on U.S. participation in certification procedures would prevent the United States from reviewing, examining, or raising concerns regarding a proposed Russian aircraft or sensor.”

“The administration should immediately reconsider this decision which benefits Russia, not the United States or our allies,” Rep. Mike Rogers (R., Mich.), chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, told the Free Beacon. “It is careless for the administration to approve Russia’s request for a sensor upgrade given that country’s recent record and its compliance issues.”

Four members of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence—two Republicans and two Democrats—also expressed opposition to the sensor upgrade. The senators wrote to Secretary of State John Kerry earlier this year urging him to “carefully evaluate the ramifications of certification on future Open Skies observation flights.”

The Russian invasion of Crimea and other efforts to destabilize Ukraine are “sufficient enough to counsel further review, irrespective of any technical concerns that may exist,” the senators said. It was signed by Republicans Dan Coats of Indiana and James E. Risch of Idaho, and Democrats Mark Warner of Virginia and Martin Heinrich of New Mexico.

“Sen. Coats is very disappointed that the administration chose to rapidly approve the new Russian capabilities so soon after the invasion of Crimea and Moscow’s efforts to destabilize Ukraine, particularly given the concerns of key American stakeholders,” said Coats’ spokesman Matt Lahr.

Risch also said he opposed the certification “until Russia becomes fully compliant with their other treaty obligations and is no longer illegally occupying Ukrainian territory.”

“Allowing the Russians to upgrade this sensor at this time does not illustrate strength or resolve to President Putin,” Risch said through a spokeswoman.

A Defense Science Board task force published in January said upgrading U.S. Open Skies aircraft would be a waste of money, even though Russia is upgrading its aircraft.

“The sensor specifications permitted by the treaty are outdated when compared with the need,” the report said. “In fact, the existing treaty requirements can be fulfilled by sensor information readily available from commercial imagery without the expense of flight missions or sensor upgrades.”

The State Department, the agency leading the Obama administration’s arm control-centered agenda, pushed for the aircraft certification in a bid to protect the treaty, even though Russia has violated several of its provisions.

A 2013 State Department report on arms compliance said the Russians are violating the Open Skies treaty by restricting spy flights over parts of Moscow, Chechnya, and near the Russian border with Georgia. The Russians also closed airfields and failed to provide proper film in violation of the treaty.

The White House said in a statement that the certification would allow the switch from film to digital photography.

“All states parties agree that the transition from film cameras to digital sensors is required for the long-term viability of the treaty,” the statement said.

Said John Bolton, former undersecretary of state for arms control: “Especially in light of Moscow’s aggression in Ukraine, the last thing we should be doing is indulging in the illusion of Russia honoring its arms control agreements.”

Mark Schneider, a former Pentagon strategic nuclear policymaker, added that he has never regarded the Open Skies accord as important. “But right now we ought to be thinking about deterrence, not playing arms control games,” he said.

The Russian violation of international airspace contrasts sharply with the Obama administration’s insistence on pursuing legal international arms agreements with Russia as a way to win Moscow’s favor, said deGraffenreid, the former White House intelligence adviser.

“They are cheating on arms control agreements so how can we trust them when they are interfering with aircraft in international airspace in violation of international law?” he asked. “If we can’t trust them on that, there is no ground for cooperation.”

The treaty, signed by 34 nations, is a confidence-building measure that allows legal spying on military sites. “It contributes to European security by providing images and information on Russian forces, and by permitting observation flights to verify compliance with arms control agreements,” the White House statement said.

The treaty permits flights using four types of sensors: optical panoramic and framing cameras, video cameras with real-time display, infrared line-scanning devices, and sideways-looking synthetic aperture radar.

[American Patriot]

Near miss... it was nothing as far as military jets go.

But the media is up in arms about a 1mile miss on passenger jets. lol


But imagine the consequences if they'd smacked into each other.

Dead crew, debris, Putin would have shrugged, Obama would have peed himself privately and said "We're doing everything we can to ensure the Russians don't whack our peepees"

It would have all blown over in a few days of screaming and bitching from the GOP, and even some of the Lefties in Congress...

But no one would die but the military guys in the Kc/RC-135, cuz you know the Russian dudes have chutes.

[Ryan Ruck]

U.S. Official: Spy Plane Flees Russian Jet, Radar; Ends Up Over Sweden

August 3, 2014



The Cold War aerial games of chicken portrayed in the movie "Top Gun" are happening in real life again nearly 30 years later.

A U.S. Air Force spy plane evaded an encounter with the Russian military on July 18, just a day after Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 was downed by a suspected surface-to-air missile that Ukraine and the West allege was fired by pro-Russia rebels in eastern Ukraine.

The RC-135 Rivet Joint fled into nearby Swedish airspace without that country's permission, a U.S. military official told CNN. The airplane may have gone through other countries' airspace as well, though it's not clear if it had permission to do so.

The U.S. plane had been flying in international airspace, conducting an electronic eavesdropping mission on the Russian military, when the Russians took the unusual action of beginning to track it with land-based radar.

The Russians then sent at least one fighter jet into the sky to intercept the aircraft, the U.S. official said Saturday.

The spy plane crew felt so concerned about the radar tracking that it wanted to get out of the area as quickly as possible, the official said. The quickest route away from the Russians took them into Swedish airspace. The U.S. official acknowledged that was done without Swedish military approval.

As a result of this incident, the United States is discussing the matter with Sweden and letting officials know there may be further occurrences where American jets have to divert so quickly they may not be able to wait for permission.

"We acknowledge a U.S. aircraft veered into Swedish airspace and will take active steps to ensure we have properly communicated with Swedish authorities in advance to prevent similar issues before they arise," the U.S. State Department said.

The incident was first reported by the Swedish news agency Svenska Dagbladet.

Russian officials did not provide any immediate reaction about the encounter.

This was at least the second potentially-dangerous encounter between a U.S. plane and Russia over the past few months. On April 23, a Russian Su-27 Flanker fighter jet buzzed within 100 feet of the nose of a U.S. Air Force RC-135U reconnaissance plane over the Sea of Okhotsk between Russia and Japan, a Defense Department official said.

Russian and U.S. aircraft often encounter each other, both in Northern Europe as well as the area between the Russian Far East and Alaska. But the official said the land radar activity by the Russians in this instance was unusual.

The ongoing civil unrest in Ukraine and the downing of MH 17 over eastern Ukraine on July 17, which killed all 298 people aboard, have heightened tensions between Washington and Moscow. Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 was brought down by a suspected missile.

Pro-Russia rebels have denied allegations from Ukraine and the West that they shot down the Malaysian airliner, or that Russia supplied equipment used to shoot it down.

[American Patriot]

This was at least the second potentially-dangerous encounter between a U.S. plane and Russia over the past few months. On April 23, a Russian Su-27 Flanker fighter jet buzzed within 100 feet of the nose of a U.S. Air Force RC-135U reconnaissance plane over the Sea of Okhotsk between Russia and Japan, a Defense Department official said.

It isn't like Obama is going to jack shit if the Ruskies blow it out of the sky either. It will be kept a 'secret' for awhile....

[Ryan Ruck]

Another "Reckless" encounter...

Russian Fighter Jet Nearly Collides with U.S. Spy Jet Over Europe

U.S. protests ‘reckless’ aerial encounter over Baltic Sea

April 10, 2015
By Bill Gertz

A Russia Su-27 jet fighter flew dangerously close and nearly collided with a U.S. reconnaissance aircraft this week in the latest aerial provocation by Moscow, defense officials revealed to the Washington Free Beacon.

The Su-27 conducted the close-in intercept of an RC-135 reconnaissance aircraft in international airspace over the Baltic Sea on Tuesday, said officials. The incident prompted a diplomatic protest.

“On the morning of April 7th, a U.S. RC-135U flying a routine route in international airspace was intercepted by a Russian Su-27 Flanker in an unsafe and unprofessional manner,” said Pentagon spokeswoman Eileen M. Lainez.

“The United States is raising this incident with Russia in the appropriate diplomatic and official channels,” she said in a statement.

A defense official said the Russian fighter jet flew within 20 feet of the unarmed reconnaissance jet in what the official called a “reckless” encounter that endangered the lives of the RC-135 crew.

No details were available regarding the mission of the RC-135, which was in a position to monitor Russian military activities in western Russia and Kaliningrad.

The RC-135 is a militarized and upgraded Boeing 707 jetliner that can be configured for several types of intelligence gathering, including photo, nuclear monitoring, and electronic spying.

The RC-135U variant involved in Tuesday’s near collision is code-named Combat Sent and conducts technical intelligence gathering on enemy electronic signals and radar emitters.

The monitoring comes amid new worries that Russia is deploying new short-range Iskander nuclear capable missiles in Kaliningrad and Russian-occupied Crimea in the Ukraine.

A second defense official said there have been no recent Russian aerial provocations near U.S. coasts. But Moscow is expected to ramp up its training operations flights around this time of year.

“That means we’re probably due for [aerial encounters] soon,” the official said.

The most recent similar encounter took place March 24 when two Su-27s, along with two nuclear capable Tu-22 Backfire bombers, conducted flights over the Baltic. The Russian jets were flying without signal beacon transponders that permit air traffic controllers to monitor their flight paths. They were intercepted by Swedish jets.

It could not be learned if U.S. or NATO jets were sent to escort the RC-135 over the Baltic Sea.

The threatening aerial encounter followed a series of provocative Russian military aircraft encounters, mainly involving the dispatch of nuclear-capable Tu-95 Bear bombers near U.S. and European coasts.

Flights of Russian strategic aircraft near U.S. and allied airspace have sharply increased as part of a campaign of nuclear saber rattling by Moscow.

Adm. William Gortney, commander of the U.S. Northern Command, expressed his military concerns about the increase in Russian military flights and provocations during a briefing with reporters the same day of the RC-135 incident over the Baltic.

“The Russians have developed a far more capable military than the quantitative, very large military that the Soviet Union had,” Gortney said, adding that Moscow has adopted a new strategic doctrine that is being demonstrated by the provocations.

“At the same time, they are messaging us,” he told reporters at the Pentagon. “They’re messaging us that they’re a global power—we do the same sort of thing—with their long-range aviation.”

Gortney said the numbers of incidents have gone up but he did not have the percentages.

“And so we watch very carefully what they’re doing,” he said. The Russians need to adhere to “international standards that are required by all airplanes that are out there,” he said, “and everybody is flying in a professional manner on their side and our side as we watch very closely.”

Eric Edelman, former undersecretary of defense for policy, said the latest incident appears to be part of a pattern of activities by Russia that began around 2007 when Russian President Vladimir Putin began protesting U.S. missile defenses in Europe. The provocative activities have taken place in both the skies and on the sea, Edelman said.

The Russians are engaged in what Edelman said is “station identification”—signaling that they remain a relevant nuclear weapons power.

“It’s part of a pattern now of very, very provocative activities, both in the air and on the sea,” Edelman said in an interview.

The Russians are signaling that “we’re still here, we’re still an important military power, your nuclear peer, and they are seeking to intimidate the Balts, Swedes, and Finns,” he said. The Baltic states are Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia.

A report by the European Leadership Network, “Dangerous Brinksmanship: Close Military Encounters Between Russia and the West in 2014,” states that last year NATO aircraft conducted more than 100 intercepts of Russian aircraft, three times the number of intercepts in 2013. A total of 11 encounters were described as being of a serious and “more aggressive or unusually provocative nature, bringing a higher level risk of escalation.”

“These include harassment of reconnaissance planes, close overflights over warships, and Russian ‘mock bombing raid’ missions,” the report said, noting that the intensity and gravity of the incidents coincided with the Russian annexation of Crimea.

“These events add up to a highly disturbing picture of violations of national airspace, emergency scrambles, narrowly avoided mid-air collisions, close encounters at sea, simulated attack runs, and other dangerous actions happening on a regular basis over a very wide geographical area.”

The report said the Russians appear to be testing NATO and European defenses, as well as using the provocative actions to contribute to an information warfare campaign.

The Russian provocations “serve as a demonstration of Russia’s capability to effectively use force for intimidation and coercion, particularly against its immediate neighbors,” the report said.

Brian McKeon, principal deputy undersecretary of defense for policy, said in Senate testimony in February that Russian nuclear actions are a significant problem.

“Russia’s recent behavior currently poses one of our most pressing and evolving strategic challenges—challenges felt across the strategic forces mission space,” McKeon said.

“We are confronted with Russia’s occupation of Crimea, continuing Russian aggression in eastern Ukraine, Russia’s increasingly aggressive nuclear posturing and threats, including the prospect of nuclear weapons in Crimea, and its violation of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty.”

Adm. Cecil Haney, commander of the U.S. Strategic Command, stated in testimony to the Senate in February that Russian aerial provocations were part of a number of “troubling actions” by Moscow

Until recently, military spokesmen have sought to play down the Russian aerial provocations, frequently dismissing intrusions into U.S. and Canadian air defense identification zones as not a threat.

“It’s ‘station identification’ and a former of intimidation, and it’s dangerous,” said Edelman, a former ambassador to Finland. “Some time something bad is going to happen, particularly against the backdrop of what’s going on in the Ukraine, and it could lead to inadvertent escalation and confrontation. It’s very dangerous.”

[American Patriot]

A second defense official said there have been no recent Russian aerial provocations near U.S. coasts. But Moscow is expected to ramp up its training operations flights around this time of year.

“That means we’re probably due for [aerial encounters] soon,” the official said.

Soon...

[American Patriot]

According to Fox News just now, the interceptions of Russian aircraft by NATO planes have (If I HEARD this RIGHT) more than tripled in the last few months from last year.

[Ryan Ruck]

U.S., Russian Aircraft Came Within 10 Feet Over Black Sea

June 11, 2015

A Russian fighter jet, flying at high speed, came within 10 feet of a U.S. Air Force reconnaissance aircraft in international airspace over the Black Sea late last month, several U.S. officials told CNN Thursday.

The Russian jet flew alongside the U.S. plane at the same altitude, broke off, and then shadowed the plane before leaving the area in the May 30 incident, the officials said. The U.S. aircraft took no evasive measures, and no other details were immediately available. Military officials could not say whether a diplomatic protest had been filed.

The close call comes weeks after another incident between the U.S. and Russia over the skies of Europe, when a U.S. RC-135U flying a routine route in international airspace was intercepted by a Russian SU-27 Flanker in what authorities called an "unsafe and unprofessional manner."

And earlier this month, the U.S. Navy took the unusual step of releasing video of Russian Su-24 aircraft flying past the right side of the guided missile destroyer USS Ross in the Black Sea.

The video was distributed to make clear that the airplanes and ship had a routine encounter, contrary to Russian reports. It shows a warplane approaching from the distance and then quickly zooming past the American vessel.

The Russian aircraft were not armed, according to a U.S. defense official, and the entire matter was considered routine.

The U.S. officials say because there are more military aircraft from NATO and Russia flying over the Black Sea and the Baltics, there are more interactions. However, the two air incidents are of particular concern because of the danger they posed to U.S. aircraft and personnel.

[Ryan Ruck]

Still happening...

Russian Fighter Conducts Dangerous Intercept of U.S. Recon Jet

Pentagon calls Black Sea aerial provocation ‘unsafe and unprofessional’

January 28, 2016
By Bill Gertz

A Russian Su-27 jet fighter came within 20 feet of a U.S. RC-135 reconnaissance aircraft over the Black Sea on Monday in Moscow’s latest military provocation involving dangerous aerial encounters.

“On Jan. 25 an RC-135 aircraft flying a routine route in international airspace over the Black Sea was intercepted by a Russian Su-27 in an unsafe and unprofessional manner,” Navy Capt. Daniel Hernandez, chief spokesman for the U.S. European Command, told the Washington Free Beacon. “We are looking into the issue.”

Defense officials said the Su-27 flew alongside the RC-135, an electronic intelligence-gathering aircraft, and then performed what they said was an aggressive banking turn away from the intelligence jet.

The thrust from the Su-27 “disturbed the controllability” of the RC-135, said one official familiar with details of the incident.

A second official said the reconnaissance aircraft was flying 30 miles from the coast—well within international airspace and far away from any Russian territory—at the time of the encounter.

The Pentagon announced Thursday that it has concluded a flight safety memorandum with Russia after holding a video conference with Russian Defense Ministry officials.

The areas of discussion included air safety over the skies in Syria as well as “the means to avoid accidents and unintended confrontation between coalition and Russian forces whenever the two sides operate in close proximity,” Pentagon spokesman Peter Cook said in a statement.

The statement made no mention of Monday’s dangerous aerial encounter.

The Black Sea encounter was the latest in a series of aggressive Russian military activities aimed coercing or harassing U.S. military aircraft and ships in both Europe and Asia.

The provocations are not limited to U.S. forces. On Tuesday, Japan’s Defense Ministry revealed that Japanese interceptor jets were scrambled to chase two Russian Tu-95 Bear bombers that approached the northern end of Japan and flew just outside that country’s airspace in maneuvers described by analysts as unusually close.

Other incidents included a similar near-collision between a Russian fighter and RC-135, a militarized Boeing 707, over the Black Sea on May 30. Around the same time, a Russian Su-24 jet buzzed the destroyer USS Ross in the Black Sea near occupied Crimea.

Earlier, on April 7, another Su-27 flew within 20 feet of an RC-135, this time over the Baltic Sea.

The RC-135 intercept over the Black Sea took place around the same time as a Russian Su-24 jet interceptor buzzed the destroyer USS Ross in the Black Sea, near occupied Crimea.

Navy footage showed the jet made several low-level passes over the Ross.

In October, two Russian Tu-142 bombers made low passes near the aircraft carrier USS Reagan as it sailed in the Sea of Japan near the Korean peninsula.

Navy F-18 jets were scrambled to intercept the bombers during that incident.

And last July 4, two Tu-95 nuclear-capable bombers flew within 40 miles of the California coast and communicated a “happy birthday” message to intercepting U.S. pilots. That incident took place the same day President Obama held a telephone conference with Russian leader Vladimir Putin.

Russian Tu-95 bombers also circumnavigated Guam in December, for the second time in two months. Guam is the U.S. military’s major hub and a key facility in the American military rebalance to Asia.

“Much of what Russia is doing today is aimed at generating fear of Russian military power and the possibility of war,” said former Pentagon Russia expert Mark Schneider.

“That is broadcast on a daily basis in the state media and through Russian military actions,” Schneider added. “Provocations involving aircraft are now common place. Russia also tends to be paranoid concerning foreign espionage and the protection of state secrets.”

Adm. Cecil Haney, commander of the U.S. Strategic Command said Russian military activities, including aircraft flights, are an increasing concern as Moscow seeks to reemerge as a world power.

Haney voiced concerns about Russian nuclear-capable bomber flights around the world, and large-scale ground forces nuclear exercises, along with vocal statements threatening the use of nuclear weapons.

Russian military aircraft have been conducting flights in Europe without the use of air-traffic control tracking transponders, a practice Haney called “reckless.”

Russia has stepped up aggressive military activities in response to NATO’s deployment of forces closer to Russian borders following Moscow’s military annexation of Ukraine’s Crimea and continuing covert military destabilization of eastern Ukraine.

NATO has increased its force posture with additional military exercises, troop deployments and increased intelligence-gathering to support NATO allies that are threatened by Russian military revanchism.

Russia announced a new military strategy in December that increases the country’s reliance on nuclear forces over conventional troops and weapons.

Russia also is expected to announce a new military doctrine, a senior Russian commander announced on Tuesday.

Maj. Gen. Sergey Chvarkov, deputy chief of the general staff academy said the United States is seeking to weaken Russia and is creating new national security threats to Moscow.

“At the foundation of the negative development of the international situation lie the USA’s actions, which in striving for global hegemony intentionally forms global instability to weaken strategic opponents, primarily Russia, creating national security threats to our country,” Chvarkov said, according to the state-run RIA Novosti news agency.

Western policies are fomenting global and internal conflicts that have produced the flood of refugees in Europe, Chvarkov said. He added that the West is waging “information war” on Russia.

[American Patriot]

Yikes

[vector7]

U.S. says Russian planes buzzed Navy ship in Baltic Sea

By Robert Burns / The Associated Press

Published: Wednesday, April 13th, 2016 at 11:06am
Updated: Wednesday, April 13th, 2016 at 7:05pm

In this Tuesday photo provided by the U.S. Navy, two Russian Sukhoi Su-24 attack aircraft make a low-altitude pass by the USS Donald Cook in the Baltic Sea. (Source: U.S. Navy)

WASHINGTON — Russian attack planes buzzed a U.S. Navy destroyer in the Baltic Sea multiple times Monday and Tuesday, coming as close as an estimated 30 feet from the ship and twice passing below the ship’s navigation bridge, U.S. officials said Wednesday.

The Russian Su-24 planes appeared unarmed but on Tuesday flew what the commander of the USS Donald Cook deemed to be a simulated attack profile. The Cook’s commander judged the actions unsafe and unprofessional, but the ship took no action beyond trying unsuccessfully to communicate with the aircraft by radio, according to a statement by U.S. European Command.

The U.S. European Command, which oversees U.S. military operations in that area, said the Cook was conducting deck landing drills with an allied military helicopter when two Su-24s made numerous close-range and low-altitude passes Monday afternoon. One pass occurred while the helicopter was refueling on the Cook’s deck.

“As a safety precaution, flight operations were suspended until the Su-24s departed the area,” it said.

European Command did not identify the ally involved but other officials said the helicopter was Polish.

It was unclear when or if the U.S. government would formally protest the Russian actions, which come at a time of tensions between Washington and Moscow over Russia’s annexation of Crimea, its military intervention in eastern Ukraine and fears among former Soviet states in eastern Europe that Russian aggression could threaten their independence.

White House press secretary Josh Earnest said the incident was part of a pattern of unsafe Russian aircraft action.
“This incident … is entirely inconsistent with the professional norms of militaries operating in proximity to each other in international waters and international airspace,” Earnest said.

“There have been repeated incidents over the last year where the Russian military, including Russian military aircraft, have come close enough to each other or have come close enough to other air and sea traffic to raise serious safety concerns. We continue to be concerned about this behavior,” he said.


In this image released by the U.S. Navy, a Russian SU-24 jet makes a close-range and low-altitude pass near the USS Donald Cook on Tuesday, at one point coming so close, an estimated 30 feet, that they created wakes in the water around the ship, a U.S. official said Wednesday. (Source: U.S. Navy)

European Command released a Navy photo showing one Su-24 soaring past the Cook at close range.

A Navy video clip shows another low-altitude pass with a U.S. sailor shouting, “Below the bridge wing,” meaning the Russian plane was flying below the level of the Cook’s navigation bridge.

“We have deep concerns about the unsafe and unprofessional Russian flight maneuvers,” European Command said in its written statement. “These actions have the potential to unnecessarily escalate tensions between countries, and could result in a miscalculation or accident that could cause serious injury or death.”

It said U.S. officials are using diplomatic channels to address the matter. The incidents also are under review by the Navy.

The incident began Monday with a pair of Russian Su-24 planes making 20 close passes over the Cook, coming as close as 1,000 yards at an altitude of about 100 feet, according to a U.S. defense official. The official was not authorized to discuss some details by name and so spoke on condition of anonymity.

On Tuesday a Russian KA-26 submarine-hunting helicopter circled the Cook at low altitude seven times, taking photographs, the official said. About 40 minutes later, another pair of Su-24 attack planes, apparently unarmed, buzzed the Cook 11 times, the European Command statement said. At one point, at least one of the planes came within 30 feet of the ship, according to a Pentagon spokeswoman, Lt. Col. Michelle L. Baldanza.

The U.S. believes the Russian actions may have violated a 1970s agreement meant to prevent unsafe incidents at sea. The agreement was between the U.S. and the former Soviet Union but remains in force with Russia.

Officials said the Cook was operating in international waters 70 nautical miles off the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad. It had departed the Polish port of Gdynia on Monday. In April 2014 the Cook reported what it considered provocative actions by an apparently unarmed Russian Su-24 jet that made numerous low passes near the ship in the Black Sea near Romania.

[Brian Baldwin]

Why the hell weren't they blown out of the sky? They wouldn't answer radio coms, they violated treaty regulating this, and acted hostile... The pilots should be chum in the waters and Putin notified that if it happened again we'd wipe them out as a nation. This is utter BS.

[Malsua]

If Russian Destroyers were floating 15 miles off of New Orleans, do you think we'd do some close runs? Do you think the Russians would shoot? If so, what exactly is it that you think would happen next?

[Ryan Ruck]

Problem is, this wasn't just an overflight, this was dangerously close and we're having to rely on the hope that the Russian pilot hasn't consumed half of his aircraft's alcohol based coolant on the flight in.








Not saying a shootdown would be justified but a lockup with the fire control radar might make Dimitri think twice. Sure, they would likely get some ELINT from the equipment but do it with something like the CIWS which has been around a while and they probably know all about...

[Malsua]

I understand what's going on here, but you have to look at the big picture. We're in their backyard. Unless and until they fire upon us or damage us in some fashion, shooting them down would start a war.

As much as I'd like to show them how well a Phalanx gun works, it's just not worth it.

That said, maybe they need to launch some tethered weather balloons on steel cables. Perhaps a picket or two could also run a few.

[Ryan Ruck]

Should have at least popped some smoke...

[Brian Baldwin]

If Russian Destroyers were floating 15 miles off of New Orleans, do you think we'd do some close runs? Do you think the Russians would shoot? If so, what exactly is it that you think would happen next?

I'm fully aware of what would happen next... It's exactly why we should do it. I know a lot of people on this site wring their hands about anything China or Russia, but the pure simple fact is they can not beat us. They seem to be the only ones aware of it too. We have better training, better soldiers, better technology, better logistical support, and by far superior firepower in every sense of the word. Yes I'm aware of their new stuff. No, it's not even close to being an answer to what we can bring to bear. The only problem I'm seeing is a weak assed F***ing president that will probably beg forgiveness from Putin over this incident then blame the GOP for it happening at all.

Considering the majority of Nato's nations have already told their people to shoot down Russian jets that interfere in their operations, I can't even come close to believing we shouldn't do the same.

As for being off our coast? I believe we'd observe them. Likely with subs and satellites and high flying recon planes. We wouldn't buzz their decks. And were it me... I'd send them to the bottom of the ocean if they even came 1" into our waters. Start a war? Pretty much already in one with them.

Here's what I'm fairly certain would really happen if we had splashed those jets... The Russians would posture and sputter and cry to the UN. Maybe they'd even try to do some petty little retaliation. But they know they can't beat us in conventional warfare on land or sea or air. Their only other option would be nukes. Think they'd play that game? Ever seen what an Ohio class sub can do to a nation? A single sub... And we have several. I am so F'ing tired of rolling over every time some dime store dictator stamps his foot and pitches a toddler style fit while hitching up his "big boy" pants. F them. F them all.

[Brian Baldwin]

Well I'll be damned...

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2016/04...warplanes.html

Even John Kerry said the destroyer had every right under the rules of engagement to shoot the jets down.

[Ryan Ruck]

This just happened today... Seems Ivan is really pushing it.

Russian Fighter Buzzes U.S. Air Force Plane Over Baltic Sea

Incident is second between U.S. and Russian military assets that has been reported recently

April 17, 2016

A U.S. Air Force reconnaissance plane was intercepted by a Russian fighter plane over the Baltic Sea in what American officials said on Sunday was an unsafe and unprofessional manner, the second such instance in a week.

Russian officials disputed the account, saying they were responding to an unidentified target approaching their border at high speed.

The incident, which happened Thursday but didn’t come to light until this weekend, could further complicate U.S.-Russia relations. As the U.S. builds up its assets in the Baltic Sea, Russia has taken a more aggressive posture in response.

The disconnect over each side’s intentions has resulted in an increase of incidents between the American and Russian militaries in the region, according to U.S. officials. Russia sees the U.S. operating in its own backyard and doesn’t like it. That has resulted in a “game of chicken,” said Eugene Rumer, who directs the Russia and Eurasia Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, a think tank in Washington.

“They don’t want to take on the U.S. in an outright military confrontation, but the way I read this body language of theirs, they are not just going to stand by and watch it, they are going to make it difficult,” Mr. Rumer said. “They will use the entire toolkit they have, and harassment is part of the arsenal.”

The Russian jet came to within 50 feet of the Air Force plane and then executed a barrel roll over the American plane’s left side to its right, U.S. European Command officials said.

Lt. Col. David Westover, a spokesman for European Command, said the aircraft, a RC-135, was flying on a routine route in international air space on Thursday when the incident occurred. “This unsafe and unprofessional air intercept has the potential to cause serious harm and injury to all aircrews involved,” Col. Westover said. “More importantly, the unsafe and unprofessional actions of a single pilot have the potential to unnecessarily escalate tensions between countries.”

Moscow sees the incident differently. Reports that the Russian Su-27 jets made a dangerous approach were “not true,” according to a Russian military spokesman, Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov. Gen. Konashenkov said the Russian aircraft had scrambled in response to “an unidentified aerial target heading to the Russian state border at high speed.”

“The flight of the Russian aircraft was carried out in the strict accordance with the international rules of the airspace usage, no emergency situations emerged,” he said.

The incident came just days after Russian aircraft buzzed the USS Donald Cook as it conducted exercises with the Polish military. The Russian jets and a helicopter flew to within 75 feet of the destroyer in another sign that the Russian military is using increasingly aggressive tactics in the Baltic Sea to deter U.S. ships.

U.S. officials see the Cook incident as being more serious. European Command officials said they are protesting both incidents to the Russian government through diplomatic channels.

Unnerved by the buildup of U.S. assets in the Baltic Sea, Russia has begun to act more aggressively toward American aircraft and warships operating there. That is in response to an increase in operations by the U.S. and its NATO allies that are worried about increased Russian submarine activity and an increase in Russian military presence in Russia’s Kaliningrad exclave, where Russia is positioning longer-range surface to air missiles.

NATO in February approved the outlines of a new modern deterrence strategy and in July will propose what is likely to be a multinational alliance force positioned in Poland and the Baltic States, reinforcing Moscow’s concerns of a buildup.

The alliance has said the troops are rotational, not permanent, and the size will be well under any definition of substantial. NATO says the force is in keeping with a 1997 agreement with Russia that prohibits permanent stationing of substantial combat forces.

Russia has said the alliance is playing games with words and the force will in fact be permanent by any reasonable definition. Officials believe the alliance is building up a force to threaten Russia.

“We have a new military buildup in the Baltic area that from our point of view is completely unjustified,” said Alexander Grushko, the Russian ambassador. “We don’t see any difference between persistent, continuous rotation or permanent presence.”

Russian officials argue the weaponry they have put in Kaliningrad is purely defensive, a response to military maneuvering by its neighbors and more aggressive exercises by American forces. They note the U.S. and Britain have large exercises with Poland planned this year. Russian officials said NATO is trying to surround them with larger forces, not just with the buildup in the Baltic but also publicly discussing a Black Sea presence for the alliance.

“We don’t know where the end is in this military buildup,” Mr. Grushko said. “There are a lot voices from Bucharest saying we need to establish a NATO Black Sea force. Poland is insisting on a permanent presence. There is no end sign NATO has decided to stop.”

Any time the U.S. Navy encounters an incident at sea or in the air that occurs within 2,000 yards of a naval asset, the U.S. compiles those incidents and classifies them as to whether the other ship or aircraft conducted itself professionally or safe or in a usual way, or unprofessionally or unsafe or unusual. The number of those incidents with the Russian military that are deemed either unsafe or unprofessional has grown in recent years, according to a U.S. official.

“What has been the unusual is now becoming the usual,” one U.S. official said Sunday.

U.S. and NATO officials said the recent string of incidents is particularly worrisome because it appears that Russian pilots are trying to challenge norms and safety precautions that go back to the Cold War.

A year ago, in a similar incident, the Pentagon lodged a protest with Russia over what it called the unsafe interception of a U.S. reconnaissance aircraft in the Baltic Sea. In that case, the U.S. RC-135U was flying north of Poland over the Baltic Sea when it was approached by a Russian Su-27 fighter at high speed, according to U.S. officials.

NATO has been calling for renewed dialogue with Russia and the two sides are due to meet Wednesday in Brussels in the first NATO-Russia Council meeting since June 2014.

While the recent incidents are not on the agenda, the two sides are due to talk about how to make sure military exercises are transparent and do not escalate into crisis—an agenda item pushed by U.S. officials

“We are concerned of a pattern of incidents with what we consider irresponsible behavior by Russian pilots,” the senior NATO official said.

On Friday, before the intercept was made public, Mr. Grushko, Russia’s ambassador to NATO, said in a roundtable with reporters in Brussels that the U.S. and its allies were undertaking an unjustified military buildup in the Baltic region and that the incident with the USS Cook occurred about 45 miles from Russia’s military bases in Kaliningrad.

Russia is playing a dangerous game, said Olga Oliker, a Russia expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.

“I would argue that it takes a certain amount of intellectual convolution to get to the point where you think that their operations are anything but intentionally provocative,” she said. “What signal is this sending other than: look at us, see what we can do.”

[vector7]