Posted on 08/10/2007 10:33:18 AM PDT by F15Eagle
MOSCOW, Russia (Reuters) -- Russia's strategic bombers have resumed the Soviet Union's Cold War practice of flying long-haul missions to areas patrolled by NATO and the United States, generals said on Thursday.
A Russian bomber flew over a U.S. military base on the Pacific island of Guam on Wednesday and "exchanged smiles" with U.S. pilots who had scrambled to track it, said Maj. Gen. Pavel Androsov, head of long-range aviation in the Russian air force.
"It has always been the tradition of our long-range aviation to fly far into the ocean, to meet [U.S.] aircraft carriers and greet [U.S. pilots] visually," Androsov told a news conference.
"Yesterday we revived this tradition, and two of our young crews paid a visit to the area of the [U.S. Pacific Naval Activities] base of Guam," he said.
President Vladimir Putin has sought to make Russia more assertive in the world.
Putin has boosted defense spending and sought to raise morale in the armed forces, which were starved of funding in the chaos that followed the fall of the Soviet Union.
Androsov said the sortie by the two turboprop Tu-95MS bombers, from a base near Blagoveshchensk in the Far East, had lasted for 13 hours. The Tu-95, codenamed "Bear" by NATO, is Russia's Cold War icon and may stay in service until 2040.
"I think the result was good. We met our colleagues -- fighter jet pilots from [U.S.] aircraft carriers. We exchanged smiles and returned home," Androsov said.
U.S. officials told CNN, however, that the two bombers came no closer than 100 miles to any U.S. aircraft and no closer than 300 miles to the Navy ships, and that there was no visual contact.
Ivan Safranchuk, Moscow office director of the Washington-based World Security Institute, said he saw nothing extraordinary
(Excerpt) Read more at cnn.com ...
ping
This will last about a month before they run out of money for it or gangsters will steal all the gas for the planes.
Targets of opportunity.
I think they did this stuff in Top Gun.
“Let me look into your eyes, Putie-pute. Oh my, you have such a lovely soul.”
deedledeedledeedledeedle!! Hi, Ivan! Bye, Ivan...
Colonel, USAFR
At one time the Soviets probably had 100 of them
Sky King, Sky King, do not answer.
jeez, they’re even worse than us about getting amped up to fight the previous war.
Sorry. CINCPACFLT has already said this is bullshit and that the Russians didn't come within 300 miles of Guam.
“Sorry. CINCPACFLT has already said this is bullshit and that the Russians didn’t come within 300 miles of Guam.”
CNN, Reuters, etc. can’t believe any of them anymore.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1879376/posts
Yep, according to the NY Times (hehe) as you said - I saw that as I was posting this ... oh well ..
Sounds like the Russian general is lying? They’d never do that, right? (KAL007)
It can loiter thousands of miles out. The family of cruise missiles carried have incredible range.
The airframes of the Tu-95MS are new build. The last came off the production line in the early 90s. In comparison the youngest B-52H in service would be from October 1962.
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