British jets intercept Russian bombers

[OrangeEmpire]

British jets intercept Russian bombers

Norwegian and British fighter jets were scrambled to intercept Russian bombers over the north Atlantic, the latest in a series of such incidents, Norway's military command said Friday.

Two Russian Tupolev-160 bombers or "Blackjacks" were detected by the NATO allies flying along the Norwegian coast before passing by northern Scotland, a military spokesman told AFP.
"We dispatched two F-16s from Bodoe airbase (in the north of Norway) to identify them," Lieutenant-Colonel Jon Inge Oegland said, adding that Britain had also sent aircraft.
"It conforms with the declarations of (Russian) president (Vladmir) Putin and we are expecting more such flights in the future. "It was nothing dramatic but we are of course keeping a close eye on things," Oegland said.

Thoughts?

 

[TennTradition]

Posturing. Putin is rallying the home crowd. My guess is that he plans on returning to power beyond his presidential term. His power play to dissolve the parliament/cabinet earlier this week seems to be part of a basic plan that coincides with his near totalitarian treatment of "free" press in his country. It's fine...country's will posture. And, Russia is becoming more relevant..but countries that are all too relevant in the nuclear landscape must be careful to what degree they pinch their opposition.

 

[cheeze weazul]

They are just afraid the dart that bush throws at a map to decide who to bomb will hit Russia.

 

[OneManGang]

As one of a bit older vintage than most on this board, I can remember the days when intercepts like this were a daily occurence. The Soviets would send Bears, Bisons, Backfires and the occasional May ASW bomber to fly over NATO ships and close (but still in international aisrspace) to the UK or down the EastCoast of the US. Fighters of NATO, the US Navy or the ANG would scramble and "escort" the Sovs along their flight path.

The advent of two-seat fighters (i.e., the F-4 Phantom, Tornado and F-14) lent a new wrinkle to the festivities as the rear-seaters would often hold up the centerfold from the latest Playboy for the edification of the Commies. This would now lead to some sort of official reprimand *sigh*.

The reason for these flights was to 1) show the flag "We're here and we can hit you." 2) to get pictures of the latest in Western, Imperialist war-mongering weaponry (we did the same thing) and 3) to conduct electronic sweeps to identify the range and operating parameters of NATO and US Navy radars and missile systems.

I WAS gratified to see that the Brits sent up the Varsity - and gave the Russkies a look at the new Typhoon fighter in action.

An F-15 Eagle shows a Soviet Tu-95 Bear who's boss in the sky.

 

[CSpindizzy]

Putin's just reminding the world he is still around. Plus there is nothing better to test responses and see what sort of action this gets in response...both militarily and diplomatically.