"NATO Intercepts Huge Formation Of Russian Military Jets..." Topic

…Over The Baltics.

"According to the Latvian military, on Oct. 28, the German Air Force Eurofighter jets on QRA (Quick Reaction Alert) at Amari, Estonia, to provide NATO Baltic Air Policing were scrambled to intercept seven Russian Air Force planes flying in international airspace over the Baltic Sea.

The German interceptors identified the Russian planes as a large package, made of attack planes and escort, which included 2x MiG-31 Foxhound, 2x Su-34 Fullback, 1x Su-27 Flanker and 2x Su-24 Fencer jets.

Regardless to whether the Russian aircraft were involved in one of the frequent training missions in the Baltics or were commuting to/from the Russian airfield in Kaliningrad oblast, the package on Oct 28 represents one of the largest "formations" intercepted by NATO fighter planes during the last couple of years…"
Full article here
link

First the "ghost" submarine, now this… what is going one there?

Amicalement
Armand

Someone trying to distract their populace from the falling rouble, perhaps?

Seven is a huge formation, is it?

Given the direction F-35 is sending many buyer air forces, seven soon will be a huge formation…. ;-)

At the cost of modern combat aircraft … "a few" could considered huge !

And the 2 Su-34… Out of the 59 that they've managed to build since (IIRC) 2009. I guess that would constitute a 'huge' chunk of their inventory.

Given the payload of an Su34, a pair is enough to flatten Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia!

While the actual number may not be significantly massive, NATO is reporting over 100 intercepts so far this year, three times as many as last year, flying over the Black Sea, the Baltic Sea, the North Sea and the Atlantic Ocean.

More worryingly, according to the NATO statement, "…such flights pose a potential risk to civilian aviation because the Russian military often does not file flight plans or use on-board transponders. This means civilian air traffic control cannot detect these aircraft nor ensure there is no interference with civilian air traffic…"

That is rather an eclectic mix, and I note only one Su-27, when they are usually operated in at least pairs, as demonstrated by all the other types being flown (mechanical problems on the other, prior to the sortie, perhaps?).

Su-27 could've also been a Su-30 attack version or a dual seat Su-27UB sent for observation purposes.

I would've expected more fighter cover though.

Apparently there were several packages involving about 19-26 aircraft and included 4 Tu-95s that prompted intercepts by Norwegian, British and Portuguese airforces (that's how far they flew).

washingtonpost.com/world/europe/nato-says-russian-jets-bombers-circle-europe-in-unusual-incidents/2014/10/29/6098d964-5f97-11e4-827b-2d813561bdfd_story.html

No surprise, perhaps (after all, we have continually upgraded the C-130, B-52, etc) but it seems the venerated Tu-95 is being upgraded too: link

"It is the Cold War workhorse that never went out of fashion.

The Tu-95 is one of the Russia's most versatile aircraft – and advances in missile technology mean it is unlikely to become redundant soon.

The aircraft that was developed to carry nuclear bombs is proving ideal for transporting a new generation of smaller, more accurate munitions. Mr Karash (Moscow-based aviation analyst, Yuri Karash) says weapons such as the cruise missile now need no more than a "flying platform" to launch them, eliminating the need for sophisticated bomber jets.

The Russian military is currently refitting the Tu-95 bomber fleet with the latest navigation and avionics systems. The accuracy of the new technology means there is less risk that such aircraft may accidentally stray into foreign airspace. Mr Karash says an accurate onboard navigation system is now arguably the most important part of an aircraft as intimidating as the Tu-95."

So presumably anything that does deviate over the border can no longer be considered a navigational error?

Yeah … it looks like the Putin and his crew like to play a dangerous game so to speak … Well, come to think of it, it ain't that dangerous, no one is going to do anything. And this is no reason to start another shoot'n war, regardless. And Putin knows it … He always was a fan of the Cold War …

It was acknowledged that these flights are not doing anything wrong. They remain in international airspace, flying the corridor to Kaliningrad. Even the Bear flight intercepted off the coast of Norway, then Scotland, then Portugal, never actually broke any international laws and were within their rights.

But the relative increase, particularly considering heightened tensions in Ukraine, Turkey, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, etc seem… unwise… and bound to do nothing to decrease tension with every chance of antagonising the issue, especially with the Kremlin continuing to play everything very much behind closed doors.

Question: We are all very familiar with the ubiquitous image of the Bear being intercepted by NATO fighters but we rarely hear much about US or NATO flights (Orions?) being intercepted and escorted away by MiGs off the Russian coast, East or west. I am presuming the west does make such flights too?

Actually the Baltic flights were simulating missile strikes against Denmark (the island of Bornholm to be precise) at the very time that there was a political meeting on the island.

Like the simulated nuclear strikes against Sweden in 2013 this does not breach international law but they are streching the rules to the limit and certainly turn back the clock on international behaviour to the Cold War except the Cold War players were more keen to follow the rule book in order to avoid dangerous incidents. Keep in mind that it is impossible to tell apart a 'simulated' attack from a real attack unless you are willing to allow the enemy to launch a first strike at his leisure.

I am presuming the west does make such flights too?

They certainly used to in Cold War. In fact American aircraft (as well as CIA coordinated British, Taiwanese and Iraninan aircraft) used to fly over mainland USSR and PRC resulting in quite a few shot down recce aircraft.

The Taiwanese even flew U-2s as part of this program and quite a few ended up getting a SAM in the tailpipe for their troubles.

The last time we heard about US doing similar things with manned aircraft, it caused a collision between a USN EP-3 and a PLA J-8 Finback due to no adherence to safety by the Finback pilot.

There was also an incident recently whereby the USAF sent two B-52s to test China's new air defence identification zone. No airspace violations and as such same as Russian flights.

It is also known that CIA/USAF drones are operating over Iran – an RQ-170 went down and was captured by Iranians – cause of incident is unknown as the Iranians claim a shoot down using electronic warfare gear.

Hence we can assume that US is still doing it.

I hope so … recent Russian activity would call for it … if for no other reasons.

Actually, last year's Russian flights did violate Swedish airspace.

On the plus side, all the action by Putin's Russia seems to have convinced the Swedish people to want to join NATO, where they were reluctant before, so I'll take that as a win.

Thomas, "China's self-declared Air Defence ID Zone" is over international waters, so is not recognized by the USA, and/or Japan (I suspect).

On the plus side, all the action by Putin's Russia seems to have convinced the Swedish people to want to join NATO, where they were reluctant before, so I'll take that as a win.

This is where I find recent actions strange. The whole thing appears as an intimidating threat of a potential Soviet-esque resurgence, causing those borderline nations to step further away and much more likely to seek the mutual defence of something like NATO, an action Putin states he doesn't want, yet seems indirectly determined to force.

And we would fine this how?

Fox Two, with dummy markers to represent unknown threats.