What kind of pantywaist military do we have now?
Why are Russian bombers allowed to fly over one of aircraft carriers.
U.S. fighter planes intercepted two Russian bombers, including one that buzzed an American aircraft carrier in the western Pacific during the weekend, The Associated Press has learned.
A U.S. military official says that one Russian Tupolev 95 flew directly over the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz twice, at a low altitude of about 2,000 feet, while another bomber circled about 58 miles out. The official was speaking on condition of anonymity because the reports on the flights were classified as secret.
The Saturday incident, which never escalated beyond the flyover, comes amid heightened tensions between the United States and Russia over U.S. plans for a missile defense system based in Poland and the Czech Republic.
In Moscow, the RIA Novosti news agency reported Tuesday that the head of the Russian Air Force information service, Alexander Drobyshevsky, said the Russian bombers "were carrying out their assigned flights" and in strict compliance with the international airspace rules. "We are surprised by the noise that has been raised (over the flights)," he was quoted as saying.
Such Russian encounters with U.S. ships were common during the Cold War, but have been rare since then. Russia revived the Soviet-era practice of long-range patrols by strategic bombers over the Atlantic, Pacific and Arctic oceans last August.
The bombers were among four Russian Tupolev 95s launched from Ukrainka in the middle of the night, including one that Japanese officials say violated their country's airspace over an uninhabited island south of Tokyo.
U.S. officials tracked and monitored the bombers as two flew south along the Japanese coast, and two others flew farther east, coming closer to the Nimitz and the guided missile cruiser USS Princeton.
U.S. fighter planes intercepted two Russian bombers, including one that buzzed an American aircraft carrier in the western Pacific during the weekend, The Associated Press has learned.
A U.S. military official says that one Russian Tupolev 95 flew directly over the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz twice, at a low altitude of about 2,000 feet, while another bomber circled about 58 miles out. The official was speaking on condition of anonymity because the reports on the flights were classified as secret.
The Saturday incident, which never escalated beyond the flyover, comes amid heightened tensions between the United States and Russia over U.S. plans for a missile defense system based in Poland and the Czech Republic.
In Moscow, the RIA Novosti news agency reported Tuesday that the head of the Russian Air Force information service, Alexander Drobyshevsky, said the Russian bombers "were carrying out their assigned flights" and in strict compliance with the international airspace rules. "We are surprised by the noise that has been raised (over the flights)," he was quoted as saying.
Such Russian encounters with U.S. ships were common during the Cold War, but have been rare since then. Russia revived the Soviet-era practice of long-range patrols by strategic bombers over the Atlantic, Pacific and Arctic oceans last August.
The bombers were among four Russian Tupolev 95s launched from Ukrainka in the middle of the night, including one that Japanese officials say violated their country's airspace over an uninhabited island south of Tokyo.
U.S. officials tracked and monitored the bombers as two flew south along the Japanese coast, and two others flew farther east, coming closer to the Nimitz and the guided missile cruiser USS Princeton.
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As others have mentioned, this is nothing new. I always thought the trawlers were a bigger pain in the ass than the flyovers. You don't have to dodge the airplanes.
We used to have what we called "Incident Teams". When a trawler or aircraft came within a certain distance the Incident Team would man the rails with loaded cameras.
According to the radio news report I heard, this wasn't a true flyover. They said the bombers were intercepted at fifty miles out and escorted away from the ship. Fifty miles is pretty close, but not exactly a flyover.0 -
My dad was last out with the fleet in 1958 during the Formosa Crisis. He told me years later of an incident he witnessed from the flight deck. The Russians had recently shot down one of our recon planes, and a Bear overflew his carrier one day. It was followed over the horizon by a pair of F-8 Crusaders and shot down in retaliation. He saw the black smoke column miles away where the Bear splashed in. During the Cold War many sailors and airmen on both sides died from these eyeball-to-eyeball confrontations, and most of them never made the news. 0 -
Its a dumb a** question. 0 -
They flew those bombers near Guam....supposedly over...who knows. No big news. Those Russian bombers can drop cruise missiles from dang near the Chinese coast and hit something over here without ever getting near us.
Doesn't matter if they fly over you showing off or not. Both sides know they can't shoot so they play.
What if China uses one of their F-16's they got from Venezuela and shot down a Russian bomber?.........hmmmm. China could make a fortune selling arms and they can make up the war.0
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