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

[vector7]

US Army general: Next time Russian jets buzz US ships, it may not end well for them

• Richard Sisk, Military.com

• Apr. 22, 2016, 2:45 PM

Russia should be warned that its dangerous flybys of US ships and planes could be met by force, President Barack Obama's nominee as the next NATO and US European Command commander said Thursday.

"Sir, I believe that should be known -- yes," Army Gen. Curtis M. "Mike" Scaparrotti said when asked by Sen. John McCain whether Russia should be told that the US would take action if American lives were endangered.

Pursuing the same line of questioning, Sen. Joe Donnelly, an Indiana Democrat, asked Scaparrotti whether the Russians should be told that "next time it doesn't end well for you."

The general responded that "we should engage them and make clear what's acceptable. Once we make that known, we have to enforce it.

"I think they're pushing the envelope in terms of our resolve," Scaparrotti added. "It's absolutely reckless, it's unjustified and it's dangerous." As NATO commander, he said one of his first actions would be to review the rules of engagement for US and allied forces in the region.

On Monday, two Russian Su-24 fighters made numerous, close-range and low-altitude passes while the US guided missile destroyer USS Donald Cook was conducting landing drills with helicopters in the Baltic Sea.

On Tuesday, a Russian helicopter circled around the Cook seven times at a low altitude. About 40 minutes later, two Su-24s made 11 close-range and low-altitude passes.

Secretary of State John Kerry later said that the sailors of the Cook would have been justified in shooting down the Russian fighters.



"It's unprofessional, and under the rules of engagement that could have been a shoot down, so people need to understand that this is serious business, and the United States is not going to be intimidated on the high seas," Kerry said in an interview on CNN Espanol.

Scaparrotti, now commander of US Forces Korea, was testifying before the Senate Armed Services Committee at what could be called a historic confirmation hearing.

Seated next to him at the witness table was Air Force Gen. Lori Robinson, currently commander of Pacific Air Forces, who has been nominated as the next commander of US Northern Command and the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD). If confirmed, Robinson would become the first woman to command a combatant command.

Both Robinson and Scaparrotti appeared headed to easy confirmation. "I look forward to moving your nominations through the US Senate," said McCain, an Arizona Republican and the SASC chairman.
http://www.businessinsider.com/us-ar...or-them-2016-4

[Ryan Ruck]

Russian Chopper Circles US Missile Destroyer

May 18, 2016

US Navy releases new video from incident in April. In this raw video, a Russian helicopter crew can be seen taking photos of USS Donald Cook while on patrol in Baltic Sea.

[vector7]

Russian Politician Thanks US General For Calling Russia A Threat

Jonah Bennett
National Security/Foreign Policy Reporter

6:09 PM 05/23/2016



A top Russian senator thanked U.S. Air Force Gen. Herbert Carlisle for calling Russia a threat, saying Monday he very much appreciates the compliment.

“The very fact that some other country is resurgent already represents a cause of concern for the Pentagon, though we can probably be glad about such compliment coming from an American,” Konstantin Kosachev, chairman of the Russian Federation Council’s International Affairs Committee, said. “This is in some way a recognition. It looks like he was reported that Russia is resurging, and it is time to start worrying. Thank you for the kind words.”

Kosachev’s remarks came in response to a recent USA Today interview in which the general said the Pentagon’s concern was a “resurgent Russia,” Russian state news agency TASS reports.

“Their intent is to get us not to be there… So that the influence in those international spaces is controlled only by them. My belief is that we cannot allow that to happen. We have to continue to operate legally in international airspace and international waterways,” Carlisle noted, referring to what the Pentagon sees as increasingly aggressive activity by Russia and China outside their sovereign borders.

Carlisle said the Pentagon had been paying close attention to Russian aircraft activity in Eastern Europe and even off the West Coast of the United States.

“We have seen an increase,” Carlisle said. “All the way down to the California coast. The number and frequency has increased.”

“As they become more aggressive, you run the risk of miscalculation,” Carlisle added. “You don’t know where that’s going to lead, or end.”

Carlisle was also addressing increased action from Russian aircraft to disrupt U.S. military exercises in Eastern Europe. The Pentagon has complained Russian tactics are incredibly unsafe, but Russia has brushed off concerns.

“All flights of Russian planes are conducted in accordance with international regulations on the use of airspace,” the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement after a Su-27 fighter intercepted a U.S. RC-135 over the Baltic Sea. “The U.S. Air Force has two solutions: either not to fly near our borders or to turn the transponder on for identification.”

[American Patriot]

lol. Russians DO have a sense of humor. Cute.

[Ryan Ruck]

Russian Fighter Jet Makes 'Unsafe' Intercept Of US Aircraft

September 7, 2016

A Russian fighter jet made an "unsafe close-range intercept" of a US aircraft over the Black Sea Wednesday, coming within 10 feet of the American plane.

Pentagon spokesman Jeff Davis said the potentially dangerous incident, involving a Russian SU-27 jet and a US Navy P-8A Poseidon plane, lasted 19 minutes.

A US official told CNN's Barbara Starr that the Russian plane came within 10 feet of the P-8 at one point. Davis added that the US plane was conducting routine operations in international airspace at the time.

These actions have the potential to unnecessarily escalate tensions, and could result in a miscalculation or accident," Davis said in a statement.

The US has long protested Russian intercepts of its aircraft; there have been several this year.

On two separate occasions in April, Russian SU-27 fighters performed "barrel rolls" over American KC-135 planes flying above the Baltic Sea.

Russian officials have defended the actions of their pilots in the past, but have yet to comment on the most recent incident.

Tensions have been ratcheted up in the Black Sea recently as Russia began five days of military exercises Monday involving 12,500 personnel and its Black Sea fleet based in Crimea, according to the Russian Ministry of Defense. Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014 an event that has subjected Russia to international sanctions.

The Russian Defense Ministry posted a video Thursday on its Facebook page showing Russian fighter crews based in Crimea conducting an intercept drill.

The latest incident also comes as US Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov are due to meet Thursday to discuss the ongoing conflict in Syria.

[Malsua]

Expect more of the same if ms convulsion steals her way into the white hut.

[American Patriot]

White Hut... hahahaha. Wait, that's not funny. Third world nation. White Hut... yikes.

[Ryan Ruck]

Russian Fighter Jet Comes Within 20 Feet of US Navy Aircraft: Official

May 12, 2017

An armed Russian fighter jet flew alarmingly close to a U.S. Navy reconnaissance aircraft flying in the Black Sea on Tuesday -- just one day before Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov visited Washington.

The Russian jet came as close as 20 feet to the American aircraft and remained that close for five minutes, a U.S. defense official told Fox News.

The Russian jet was carrying six air-to-air missiles under its wings, making this episode "highly provocative," one official told Fox News.

It is very rare for a Russian jet to intercept a U.S. aircraft while visibly armed, officials said.

"This was a one off," one official said.

Earlier, officials described the encounter as "safe."

"While this one was considered by the flight crew to be safe and professional, this sort of close encounter certainly has the possibility to become dangerous in a hurry," the defense official said.

A Su-27 Russian jet made the close approach to the P-8A Poseidon while the Navy plane was in international airspace.

The Su-27 was scrambled reportedly after the Poseidon appeared to be approaching Russia's border. The Poseidon soon changed its course.

In a statement issued Friday, the Russian officials called the jet's intercept a "greeting" maneuver.

"After approaching a plane at a safe distance the Russian pilot visually identified the flying object as a U.S. surveillance plane P-8A Poseidon," the Russian military said in the statement.

Unlike Russian intercepts in the past, this Russian jet approached the U.S. Navy recon plane "slowly," according to the defense official. The entire encounter lasted about an hour.

"It goes on almost every day of the week," the official said. A separate official said about 60 such incidents have occurred since 2007, RT reported.

The latest Russian incident in the Black Sea comes a month before the U.S. military kicks off a series of military exercises in the region.

In February, Russian fighter jets buzzed a U.S. Navy destroyer in the Black Sea on the same day the U.S. Army unloaded dozens of tanks and hundreds of soldiers in a nearby Romanian port along the Black Sea.

The same destroyer the Russians buzzed in February -- USS Porter -- was one of the warships which launched cruise missiles into Syria last month.

In September, a Russian jet buzzed a Navy spy plane over the Black Sea, the aircrafts coming within 10 feet of each other during that encounter.

When asked about the timing of Tuesday's incident coming a day before Lavrov's visit to Washington to meet President Trump and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, the defense official asked, "What were we doing flying that day?"

The latest Russian provocation comes a week after a pair of Russian Bear bombers and fighter jets flew near Alaska on several consecutive nights, prompting the U.S. Air Force to dispatch F-22 stealth fighter jets to intercept the Russian formation.

NBC News was the first to report Tuesday's intercept.

[American Patriot]

"This was a one off," one official said.

Earlier, officials described the encounter as "safe."

Someone is lying. Twice.