Russian Bear T-95 Bombers provoke Dutch and UK Airspace
 

Last night, two Bear T-95 Bombers entered Dutch Airspace withouth clear intentions. They were escorted by F-16's untill they reached the UK.

http://www.nu.nl/binnenland/2427006/...ept-f-16s.html

Google translate MinDefReport: http://translate.google.nl/translate...che_toestellen

http://www.thefullwiki.org/Tupolev_Tu-95

It has become a recent habit of the Russians to test the combat readiness within the EU. They fly around Norway and then head south over the North Sea.

When i just googled for an English news article on it i just saw they also visited Canada lately. The other news reports for Europe date back to 2007.

Does anybody have any comments of what they actually try to achieve? Or is itr just a bully?

I say, lets test the Patriots on some else then Scud heading to Israel :) (1990-1992)

Bears have regularly headed toward UK airspace for decades (but always in the press), the regularity did dip somewhat in the 90's but has been picking up again since Putin arrived in power in '99. I do find it strange about heading for NL though, not a massive airspace to play with!

And it's just testing responses, seeing how far they can go before having a jet pull up alongside for a photo or two. Also they in turn photo the jets that appear. It is just a big game really, and all is well as long as it remains just a game.

http://www.raf.mod.uk/rafcms/mediafi...DB509327B4.jpg

Nothing to see here.
This game has been goin on for a long time. They do it to us, we do it to them.
Flying (in) to the outskirts of another Nation's air space is nothing new.

It's posturing (and a bit of gaining routine and experience for the flight crews). If I recall correctly, these flights had been stopped for some years, but then continued since three years ago or so. They want to appear as stronger than they are by having picked up this routine again.

I cannot imagine a serious reward from this. NATO hardly will show them how early they are being detected, and if the Russians have any real trump cards, they hardly will reveal them this way. They hardly will show how low they can fly and hgow deep they can penetrate before being detected.

It's all bluffing. Any intel gathered by this, would be just an accident, or by random chance.

Are you people serious? The Russians aren't posturing or gathering intelligence, and that Bear certainly wasn't at the mercy of those fighters.

The only reason there are bear bombers over Europe is because, as everyone knows, in Soviet Russia bombers intercept you.

Herr-B is spot on, it's an old game, and it's good for the defending country to test out its rapid response force. Our Tornados and Eurofighters at Leuchars and Coningsby have been busy in the past few years. In turn the P3s and other aircraft that snoop around the Russian borders often attract a MiG or two. I saw a photo once of a MiG-29 (I think it was a 29)'s tail clipping the prop of a P3 and getting it shredded. Sadly, I've been unable to locate it again, having lost it years ago.

It's all generally pretty friendly stuff though, I've read that on the interceptors over Alaska and Guam the Russians will often show the US what they're reading (one was reading the Washington Times :haha:) or hold up cans of Coke.

I wonder if the old AGIs still operate though, the old Russian 'Fishing trawler's that used to follow CVBGs everywhere they went. :hmmm: I'd be very surprised if they didn't. :yep:


EDIT:

:har::har::har::yeah:

I am not sure what you mean precise, but one thing is still a fact, half of the Russian cargo (commercial) ships that sail around the world have an incredible amount of antenna's and com stuff. More then any other normal ship.

Well Duh, why do you think the Bear has guns on it! :O:

http://www.acig.org/artman/publish/article_287.shtml

I don't doubt it, I know the Chinese and North Koreans do.

I think that role has been outsourced to Chinese subs now :har:

Edit: Sorry, I did type this ages ago but have been busy at work and have only just pressed the button! I'm honestly not just copying TLAM.

Speaking of Russian Trawlers, you guys ever seen one below the waterline?

http://img171.imageshack.us/img171/9605/317041.jpg
http://img21.imageshack.us/img21/7121/317039.jpghttp://img211.imageshack.us/img211/7121/317039.jpg
http://img209.imageshack.us/img209/9953/317040.jpg

:o

Sure shows what fish they're after, huh!

As far as NL and British airspace, sounds like they're scouting the channel/approaches to it and probing for defenses in that area. Definitely a strategic shipping point.

Huh. I imagine popping a Mk46 into one of those would make a somewhat satisfactory boom. A relatively unarmored ship, carrying torpedoes... oh, wait, silly me. Those aren't torpedo tubes, those are fish catchers.

That's most likely the incident but there was a different photo, full colour and quite clear, taken at the exact moment of the incident from a nearby aircraft.

I'm pretty sure it was a P-3 and an Su-27 or MiG-29. It had the title on it "A close intercept". :hmmm:

http://img703.imageshack.us/img703/8...6147d3cxo8.jpg
This it? Looks like a drawing to me... :hmmm:

That's the bastard...now that you mention it, it does look like a drawing doesn't it? Still, my memory was filling in the details.

Thanks for finding it, it would have driven me mad otherwise.

Here's a pic I don't know if you've seen before of a different kind of interception along the German/Czech border back in the day:

http://www.vrtulnik.cz/mil/helo1021.jpg