Pacific Command head Admiral Samuel Locklear today said the Pentagon is growing increasingly concerned by Russian long-range bomber flights that move near the US air defense identification zone, calling it a return to “Cold War-style activity.”
Though couching the situation as a new and alarming situation, Russian bomber flights near US airspace are nothing new, and seems to happen a few times a year.
Whether those flights spark an expression of “alarm” or not depends on whether the Pentagon is pushing the idea of Russia as a potential military enemy, or at least of the Pacific Command needing more Air Force assets.
Dubbed “Russian Bear” bombers by the Pentagon and NATO, the Tupolev Tu-95 are actually aging prop planes which were introduced in the 1950s. In addition to being used as a strategic bomber, the Tu-95 is also commonly used for maritime surveillance
And the US doesn't have similar flights?
More propaganda from the MIC….Sending more $$$$$$$$$$$$$ will HELP…
Propaganda indeed, these aren't even bombers except insofar as they use the TU-95 airframe. They are SIGINT (signals intelligence) reconnaisance planes, never configured for any other purpose. And yes, of course the US has similar flights, aboard the RC-135 jets, on which I was a former crewmember. This is just ratcheting up the Cold War hysteria, "the Russians are coming!" Actually these flights, by both sides, make everyone safer by providing a factual understanding of what the others are doing. Those facts don't get shared with the public, but at least the militaries get a chance to tell themselves the truth.
Militarized propaganda
Listening to military words coming at us from deceitful military minds, minds that gain promotion based on how well that can fake and fool the enemy, this is akin to watching a terrorist beheading video and expecting to gain lifesaving enlightenment.
But its perfectly okay for US warplanes to fly along China's coast, drop bombs on Serbia, etc.
slow news day
Yes, Russian forces have been revisiting a number of conventional procedures for training and improved readiness, as every responsible nation should be doing.
But Russia shouldn't be concerned by NATO rolling up to the Russian Federation? More US hypocrisy.
The "air defense identification zone" is 200 miles long and recognized by nobody except the United States. The Bering Strait (the water that separates the US and Russia) is 50 miles wide.
Why do I see Hollywood using this as an excuse to make another remake of "Fail-Safe"? 50 years after the release of the original film, it still gives me the shivers when I think of events escalating out of hand very quickly- and every step of the way it could be a light, or a switch, or a misunderstanding that sets the world on fire.
On the other hand, a note to the US pilots sent to intercept the Tu-95's- wear your earplugs, a Bear is one noisy beast of an aircraft !