What an image!
Posted on 09/08/2007 7:36:43 AM PDT by NorthOf45
Chief: Canadian top guns, Russians tangoed this week
Chris Lambie
The Chronicle Herald
September 8, 2007
Canadian fighter jets have scrambled as recently as this week to intercept Russian bombers flying over the Arctic, says the new commander of this country’s air force.
CF-18 Hornets met the Tupolev-95 Bear bombers outside Canadian airspace, Lt.-Gen. Angus Watt told The Chronicle Herald’s editorial board Friday.
"It’s not exactly a new challenge; it’s an old challenge that has returned," Lt.-Gen. Watt said Friday.
The recent encounter took place near Inuvik, N.W.T., inside what the military dubs its air defence identification zone.
"It’s where we pay attention to people coming in," Lt.-Gen. Watt said. "They were never in our airspace. They were never in our sovereign territory."
But the Russian aircraft were within visual range of the Canuck fighter pilots during their meeting, something that has become a more frequent occurrence lately.
"We take pictures," said Lt.-Gen. Watt, who began his military career as a Sea King pilot at 12 Wing Shearwater.
In what seems like an echo of the Cold War, the Russians have also been testing British and U.S. air defences more frequently than they have since the collapse of the Soviet Union. Russian bombers never stopped flying up to the Canadian Arctic, but the patrols had greatly diminished in the past 15 years.
"We have responded in the traditional way to Russian incursions of our airspace by meeting them as they enter our airspace with our fighters to escort them through to show them that we’re paying attention," Lt.-Gen. Watt said.
Despite the apparent flexing of Russian military muscle, don’t expect a return to the icy animosity that once existed between the Kremlin and countries belonging to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
"It’s a different world. We’re not going back to the Cold War," Lt.-Gen. Watt said.
"But in the end, it does, I think, prove the point that we can’t take anything for granted."
On Thursday, British jets intercepted eight Russian nuclear-capable bombers heading for Britain — Russia’s largest show of strength since President Vladimir Putin ordered strategic air patrols to resume last month.
Col. Alexander Drobyshevsky, a spokesman for Russia’s air force, reportedly said that 14 long-range bombers began missions over the Pacific, Atlantic and Arctic oceans on Wednesday night.
Canada has been part of the North American Aerospace Defence Command, or Norad, for 50 years.
"We’ve been doing intercepts of the bombers for almost the whole time," Lt.-Gen. Watt said. "It’s just a recent increase in the frequency."
Canada is not being "inundated" by the Russian bomber flights, he said. "It’s just the odd probe."
The long-range Russian Bear bombers — a 1960s design — are usually the only aircraft that make the flights, Lt.-Gen. Watt said.
"You sometimes get other airplanes, but they need a lot of aerial refuelling, and we haven’t seen that since the Cold War era," he said.
The military is adopting a wait-and-see attitude.
"We need a bigger sample size," Lt.-Gen. Watt said. "A couple of missions doesn’t make a trend. And over the course of the next few years, we’ll see what their posture is. But on the basis of a few missions, we just react as we always have."
‘It’s not exactly a new challenge; it’s an old challenge that has returned.’
Lt.-Gen. Angus WattCommander, Canadian air force
Ping
I’m very curious as to the reason for all this Russian ADIZ probing. I don’t understand what they have to gain from bringing back the cold war, unless it’s some political tactic to galvanize their people behind their present government?
AK, you aren’t going to get called up when you get home, are you? If so, at least you will be somewhere you can get to a Harvey’s and a Timmy’s. Are things heating up? Stay safe.
What an image!
Russia needs oil to be above $26/barrel to stay afloat. Anything over that is gravy for Putin to spend making trouble. Right now he’s like Al Capone with the keys to the treasury.
Bathesda Fountain in Central Park.
Just a reminder, the Russian GDP, including it’s new oil wealth, is about on par with the state of New Jersey or Mexico. The US, NATO, and the EU have pushed to the Russian borders swallowing up most of it’s European empire. What they can’t stop by force they may well be able to stop by bluff. And the Russians have almost a century of experience bluffing the west, usually with great success.
This is precisely the reason why the US should develop its energy resources and keep the price of oil low. This directly strikes at the terrorists and other tin pot dictators around the world in the pocketbook. Love might make the world go around, but money greases the axle.
Put in context with Western inroads in Eastern Europe, it does make some sense. Brinksmanship is nothing to put past Putin either. Thanks.
So good it deserved to be repeated.
So are they entering Canadian airspace or not?
Speaking of which, why is the Air Force getting rid of 400 ALCMs? I don’t recall any treaty requiring us to do so.
Technically no. But Canada and the US both have what is called the “Air Defense Identification Zone” which extends beyond their internationally-recognized airspace. The idea is that all intercepts occur in this area so that the enemy doesn’t get the chance to hit something of value on land.
Inside the ADIZ? The Russians are indeed getting frisky. We've read reports here of them doing much the same along the borders of the northern NATO countries.
They go into the ADIZ, which is at least 200 miles wide, but not into national airspace, ever. I recall having a radio guide for the protocol to use in these intercepts.
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