SUBSIM Radio Room Forums - View Single Post - Old friends meeting in mid-air...

Chock · 08-09-07, 05:51 PM

I don't think you quite need to start digging a fallout shelter yet. For years the Russian Air Force was in real neglect following the break up of the Soviet Union, and now they are getting it back in good shape, so it's only natural that they will be flying some sorties of this nature. After all, a long range bomber like the Tupolev's job is to fly long range and bomb stuff (or at least launch missiles, or perform reconaissance), so they have to practice stuff like that.

In any case, its capabilities are not anywhere near the kind of threat they were 30 years ago.

This sortie is not a surprise, several similar ones took place to the edges of UK airspace a few months ago where they observed a large combined forces naval exercise, eventually having been met by Tornados if I recall correctly. Similar probing missions came near to US airspace a few months ago, on that occasion being 'intercepted' by F-15s. It was not a secret, nor deemed a threat, there were even some articles and photos of it in several of the big aviation magazines, and despite how the press like to report on such happenings in a dramatic fashion, they are generally good-natured affairs between the pilots, who often used to pose for photographs and wave to one another during such meetings.

You would have thought the BBC would have actually bothered to note that instead of stating that they believed it was the first one since the end of the Cold War, which it most certainly wasn't. More poor reporting and lax research from some half-assed reporter, who ought to know better than to not bother confirming sources and facts, as this is fundamental to reporting stuff.

Chock

08-09-07, 05:51 PM	#11
Chock Sea Lord Join Date: May 2005 Location: Under a thermal layer in chilly Olde England Posts: 1,842 Downloads: 0 Uploads: 0	I don't think you quite need to start digging a fallout shelter yet. For years the Russian Air Force was in real neglect following the break up of the Soviet Union, and now they are getting it back in good shape, so it's only natural that they will be flying some sorties of this nature. After all, a long range bomber like the Tupolev's job is to fly long range and bomb stuff (or at least launch missiles, or perform reconaissance), so they have to practice stuff like that. In any case, its capabilities are not anywhere near the kind of threat they were 30 years ago. This sortie is not a surprise, several similar ones took place to the edges of UK airspace a few months ago where they observed a large combined forces naval exercise, eventually having been met by Tornados if I recall correctly. Similar probing missions came near to US airspace a few months ago, on that occasion being 'intercepted' by F-15s. It was not a secret, nor deemed a threat, there were even some articles and photos of it in several of the big aviation magazines, and despite how the press like to report on such happenings in a dramatic fashion, they are generally good-natured affairs between the pilots, who often used to pose for photographs and wave to one another during such meetings. You would have thought the BBC would have actually bothered to note that instead of stating that they believed it was the first one since the end of the Cold War, which it most certainly wasn't. More poor reporting and lax research from some half-assed reporter, who ought to know better than to not bother confirming sources and facts, as this is fundamental to reporting stuff. Chock __________________