NATO scrambles jets 10 times to track Russian military planes across Europe
Source: CNN
By Barbara Starr, CNN Pentagon Correspondent
(CNN) - NATO scrambled fighter jets 10 times Monday to track and intercept an unusually "rare peak" of Russian bombers and fighters flying over the North Sea, Black Sea and Baltic Sea, according to a NATO official.
"NATO aircraft intercepted six different groups of Russian military aircraft near alliance airspace in less than six hours," the organization said in a statement.
The Russian activity across an unusually wide area of European skies came on the same day North American Aerospace Defense Command said it tracked Russian aircraft off the coast of Alaska.
None of the Russian aircraft entered the national airspace of NATO nations in Europe and the intercepts were considered safe, but an alliance statement detailed the activity.
Read more: https://www.cnn.com/2021/03/30/politics/nato-russia-jets/index.html
qazplm135
(7,447 posts)and get itself into a conflict. China too. Both seem eager to provoke and escalate lately. It makes sense, America's temporary four year sabbatical from any relevant leadership role in the world opened a door for both countries, but instead of seizing it by showing the world a different way of leadership, they have both acted aggressively, including with military actions.
America has done and does a lot of fucked up stuff, but when you do just as fucked up stuff or worse, it's hard to have the moral high ground as these countries. They need to rethink their approach both because it lessens their own influence, but America is back in the leadership business and those alliances are going to be strengthening again.
paleotn
(17,781 posts)in such close proximity to our military hardware is inherently dangerous. One mistake and we're in a shooting war neither side wants.
Hugh Bloody Bastards
(71 posts)Mr Putin must be countered at all points.
ancianita
(35,816 posts)Maybe they were being readiness tested by the Russian military?
soryang
(3,299 posts)that's what the US calls it when they do it.
paleotn
(17,781 posts)or perform unsafe midair passes. One of these days, one of Ivan's interceptors is going to go too far and get popped.
https://www.cnn.com/videos/politics/2016/05/19/us-navy-ship-buzzed-russian-jets-vstan-zc-orig.cnn
https://www.navytimes.com/news/your-navy/2019/06/05/whats-up-with-a-russian-jet-buzzing-a-navy-patrol-plane-again/
https://www.military.com/daily-news/2020/04/16/cowboy-russian-pilot-blamed-25-foot-inverted-buzz-us-navy-recon-aircraft.html
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-taiwan-usa-china/taiwan-scrambles-jets-as-18-chinese-planes-buzz-during-u-s-visit-idUSKBN2690AS
https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/russian-fighter-jet-harrowing-high-speed-close-encounter/story?id=58977044
maryellen99
(3,782 posts)soryang
(3,299 posts)So you cited 3 incidents over a five year period. congratulations. Also no unsafe operations were cited in the OP.
paleotn
(17,781 posts)Ivan has been doing this shit for years. Fact is, we don't. And don't you ever fucking say we do.
the US presses the limits on international boundaries. It's juvenile to think you can operate in the contiguous zone and not get an aggresssive response.
paleotn
(17,781 posts)Maintaining freedom of the seas in international waters is NOT the same thing as buzzing US hardware operating in international waters or international airspace. Sailing past the Spratly Islands, IN INTERNATIONAL WATERS, is not the same thing. The Black Sea is not Ivan's private lake. Show me one incident where a US military aircraft buzzed a Russian or Chinese aircraft or vessel. Just one. One. Uno. Un. Eins.
StClone
(11,679 posts)I will add by saying we want to keep our jobs. The UCMJ forbids hazarding a vessel or aircraft. So intentionally closing with another vessel against the rules and norms of safe navigation is a good way to earn a court-martial and a discharge. This is likely for fighter planes, too.
TomWilm
(1,832 posts)The incidents where it is the US military doing the buzzing is a bit harder to find, but that is mostly because they get lesser publicity in the Western media.
Many countries does this - I know a lot more about these games when played around Scandinavia. Buzzing was quite a routine procedure for Danish war ships, testing the reaction patterns in Poland during the Cold War. Often asked to do this job by our friends in the US.
Russia and Poland of course did the same, and still does - now against each other. Danish F16 fighters did it to our own commercial flights and ferries, until they were told to keep their war games at a bigger distance.
- Footage of US fighter plane buzzing plane carrying Moscow's Defence Minister before Russian jet intervenes 'flashing its missiles'.
https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/footage-fighter-plane-buzzing-plane-10679477
- US planes make unsafe intercept of Russian spy plane near Houston, Texas.
https://www.businessinsider.com/david-cenciotti-us-f-15s-intercepted-a-russian-spy-plane-2014-2
https://fort-russ.com/2016/09/us-planes-make-unsafe-intercept-of/
These are just random examples from at fast Google search. If you need others, there a plenty to find.
This latest incidence is actually Russia showing their weakness. Only those bombers has the range to fly that far - and without fighter jets backing them up, they could do nothing. They are pathetic as a global military power - except for ability to use nuclear bombs.
qazplm135
(7,447 posts)doesn't come across any better when we do it.
EndlessWire
(6,377 posts)paleotn
(17,781 posts)In the immortal words of John McCain...love him or hate him, he was spot on.....they're still a gas station masquerading as a country. Take away their nukes...oh, we have plenty of those too....and they're Kazakhstan.