Russia hawawezi kufua dafu hata kwa marekani peke yake. nakupa miama kiwili watanyosha mikono hadi dunia itashangaa.
Russian Strategic
Bombers Conduct
More Than 16
Incursions of U.S. Air
Defense Zones
Spike in Bear H flights over
past week seen as test of U.S.
air defenses
BY: Bill Gertz
Follow
BillGertz
August 7, 2014 5:00 am
Russian strategic nuclear
bombers conducted at least 16
incursions into northwestern U.S.
air defense identification zones
over the past 10 days, an
unusually sharp increase in aerial
penetrations, according to U.S.
defense officials.
The numerous flight encounters
by Tu-95 Russian Bear H
bombers prompted the
scrambling of U.S. jet fighters on
several occasions, and come
amid heightened U.S.-Russia
tensions over Ukraine.
Also, during one bomber
incursion near Alaska, a Russian
intelligence-gathering jet was
detected along with the
bombers.
Over the past week, NORAD has
visually identified Russian aircraft
operating in and around the U.S.
air defense identification zones,
said Maj. Beth Smith,
spokeswoman for U.S. Northern
Command and the North
American Aerospace Defense
Command (NORAD).
Smith called the Russian flights a
spike in activity but sought to
play down the threat, stating the
flights were assessed as routine
training missions and exercises.
The bomber flights took place
mainly along the Alaskan air
defense identification zone that
covers the Aleutian Islands and
the continental part of the state,
and one incursion involved entry
into Canadas air defense zone,
Smith said.
The Russian strategic aircraft
included a mix of Tu-95 Bear H
heavy bombers and Tu-142 Bear
F maritime reconnaissance
aircraft, she said, adding that one
IL-20 intelligence collection
aircraft was detected during the
flight incursions over the past
week to 10 days.
The bomber flights are the latest
case of nuclear saber rattling by
the Russians.
However, other defense officials
said the large number of aerial
incursions is very unusual and
harkens back to the Cold War,
when Soviet bombers frequently
sought to trigger air defenses
along the periphery of U.S.
territory as preparation for a
nuclear conflict.
Moscow, under strongman
President Vladimir Putin, is
engaged in a major buildup of its
strategic nuclear forces. The
modernization includes new
missiles of several ranges, new
strategic missile submarines, and
new long-range bombers.
As for its long-range aviation
flights near U.S. coasts, Russia
has been sharply increasing the
activities, especially in the Pacific
Northwest near Alaska, Canada,
and the West Coast.
The Washington Free
Beacon first reported that two
Bear bombers flew within 50
miles of the California coast on
June 9the closest the Russians
have flown their nuclear-capable
bombers since the days of the
Cold War. A U.S. F-15 intercepted
the bombers.
A defense official disagreed with
the spokeswoman on the
increased bomber forays.
Russian strategic nuclear forces
appear to be trying to test our
air defense reactions, or our
command and control systems,
said an official familiar with
reports of the incursions.
These are not just training
missions, the official added.
Northern Command and NORAD
in the past frequently sought to
dismiss the Russian bomber
incursions as non-threatening as
part of the Obama
administrations conciliatory
reset policy of seeking closer
ties with Moscow.
The Pentagon and other
commands, however, have
toughened rhetoric toward
Russia and its activities after the
Russian military annexation of
Ukraines Crimea in June.
Relations between Washington
and Moscow have soured. The
State Department last month
accused Moscow of violating the
1987 Intermediate-range Nuclear
Forces treaty by developing a
new cruise missile.
Moscow dismissed the charges
as untrue.
Adm. Cecil Haney, commander of
the U.S. Strategic Command,
expressed concerns about the
increase in Russian strategic
nuclear activities during a speech
in Washington June 18.
Haney said Russian nuclear
activities coincided with recent
tensions over Ukraine and
included the test launch of six
air-launched cruise missiles in a
show of force.
A Russian Defense Ministry
statement on the cruise missile
test launches said a Tu-95
bomber is capable of destroying
the critical stationary assets of an
enemy with cruise missiles, in
daytime and nighttime, in any
weather and in any part of the
globe.
Moscow also conducted several
large-scale nuclear war games in
May, Haney said.
Additionally, we have seen
significant Russian strategic
aircraft deployments in the
vicinity of places like Japan,
Korea, and even our West Coast,
Haney said at a defense industry
breakfast.
Russia continues to modernize
its strategic capabilities across all
legs of its triad, and open source
[reporting] has recently cited the
sea trials of its latest [missile
submarine], testing of its newest
air-launched cruise missile and
modernization of its
intercontinental ballistic force to
include its mobile capability in
that area, he said.
Russias recent Cold War-level
aerial encounters over the Pacific
near Alaska followed an earlier
U.S.-Russian aerial duel in Europe.
U.S. officials confirmed that an
RC-135 Rivet Joint electronic
intelligence gathering aircraft
was forced into violating
Swedish airspace by a Russian
fighter jet July 18. The U.S. jet
was seeking to evade the
Russian interceptor jet at the
time.
That encounter took place a day
after Malaysian Airlines Flight
MH17 was shot down by a
missile over eastern Ukraine.
This entry was posted in National
Security and tagged Russia.
Bookmark the permalink
