Russian warplanes entered Canadian radar zone unnoticed

[Felix the Cat]

http://www.interfax.ru/e/B/politics/28.html?id_issue=11502888

MOSCOW. April 22 (Interfax) - Russian Tu-160 strategic bombers managed to penetrate a radar zone near the Canadian coast during recent exercises, said Igor Khvorov, the commander of the Russian 37th air force army (strategic aviation).

"Our command-post exercises were planned, but they caused a kind of commotion in a number of countries. In particular, our planes managed to pass through a radar zone near Canadian coasts unnoticed," Khvorov said at a press conference in Moscow on Saturday.

The exercises reverberated in the Middle East, Khvorov said. "Of course, our exercises did not have anything to do with the situation in Iran, but their organization indirectly echoed in that region," he said.

The exercises involved 53 sorties and four guided missile launches, and the planes dropped about 200 heavy bombs, he said.

[Felix the Cat]

http://www.defencetalk.com/news/publish/Russian_Bombers_Penetrate_N_American_Buffer_Zone_Intercepted_by_U_S_Canadian_Jet_Fighters_20061002.php

A new U.S. push for greater Russian military openness collided with Cold War habits last week as Russian long-range bombers flew within 15 miles of U.S. airspace off Alaska, Denver Post website reported.

Fully-armed U.S. fighter jets responded, intercepting the two bombers.

The Russian Tu-95 bombers on a training exercise Thursday penetrated a North American buffer zone, said a statement Friday from Maj. Gen. Brett Cairns, operations chief for Colorado Springs-based North American Aerospace Defense Command.

But the bombers stayed within international airspace.

The U.S. response “was appropriate,” said Adm. Timothy Keating, commander of NORAD and U.S. Northern Command.

“We have a near-sacred responsibility to protect and defend the United States and Canada against any and all threats. We will not waver in this responsibility,” Keating said.

Four U.S. F-15 fighters, supported by two Canadian CF-18 fighters, found and intercepted the bombers. A U.S. pilot snapped a photo of the silvery Russian craft with a red star on its tail.

U.S forces, too, have been conducting training exercises over Alaska and Canada.

Russian authorities confirm that pilots of the bombers made visual contact with the U.S. pilots during recent test flights, but they claim there were also regions where the bombers flew unnoticed.

“During the flights, part of a test of long-range aircraft, the bombers’ crews saw NATO fighters, which were flying parallel to them in their airspace,” Russian Air Force spokesman Alexander Drobyshevsky told Interfax news agency.

“But there were also segments of flights, including close to Alaska, where our planes were flying unaccompanied,” he added.

The encounter happened despite a new initiative led by Keating to get Russian commanders to notify U.S. officials more fully about training missions.

Better communications are necessary “to develop better ways to understand each other’s concerns and common issues and to ensure safety of flight for aviators from both countries,” Keating said.

He hosted Russian Lt. Gen. Igor Khvorov, commander of Russia’s long-range bombers, in Colorado in December. Keating planned to visit Russia this fall to pursue this initiative, but that trip was postponed, NORAD spokesman Mike Kucharek said.

It was unclear whether Russian military officials notified U.S. officials directly of Thursday’s bomber flights. But U.S. officials knew about Russia’s training exercises from scanning media reports from Russia, Kucharek said.

Russian commanders had announced an exercise in Atlantic, Pacific and Arctic regions Sept. 26-30 involving 70 bombers and the test-firing of 18 cruise missiles.

NORAD forces charged with deterring, preventing and defeating threats to North America planned to practice maneuvers at the same time. Since Sept. 11, 2001, all NORAD patrols have been conducted using fully armed fighters.

During the Cold War, U.S.- Soviet confrontation led to close encounters of this sort, with fighters scrambled to intercept and eye opposing forces. But that’s been uncommon in recent years.

“They were flying a route. Obviously we were monitoring those flight routes,” Kucharek said. “We had to watch to see what they were doing.”

[OVERWATCH]

Russian Heavy Bombers Back In Business (http://www.strategypage.com/htmw/htairfo/articles/20061002.aspx)

October 2, 2006: Russia recently conducted its first large scale heavy bomber exercises since the end of the Cold War. Some fifty Tu-160s, Tu-95MSs and Tu-22Ms were involved. Since 1991, most Russian heavy bombers have been kept on the ground. But in the last few years, a force of bombers was refurbished. This including getting some Tu-160s back from Ukraine (because half of the 36 Tu-160s built were stationed in Ukraine when the Soviet Union was dissolved, and thus belonged to Ukraine). Only about fourteen Tu-160s are still operational, plus about fifty Tu-22Ms and about the same number of Tu-95s. Exact numbers are not available on the Tu-22Ms and Tu-95s, because both of these aircraft serve other functions (reconnaissance, electronic warfare). Their ability to perform as heavy bombers depends on the current state of crew training and maintenance. Most of these aircraft are at least twenty years old, and spare parts are sometimes difficult to get.

During the recent exercises, the bombers flew missions over the Arctic, Pacific and Atlantic oceans as well as the Black and Caspian seas. Some of the aircraft actually fired cruise missiles, and others just simulated that, as well as practice bombing runs.


The Tu-95MS is a propeller driven aircraft, most often used for naval reconnaissance. As a heavy bomber, it is a 180 ton aircraft that can carry 15 tons of bombs and missiles. It has a combat radius of over 5,000 kilometers. Actually, it's total range of 15,000 kilometers enables it to reach just about anywhere on the planet, if is uses in-flight refueling.

The Tu-22M Serves with both the Russian Air Force and Navy. It's a 112 ton aircraft that can carry 25 tons of bombs and missiles. It has a normal combat radius of 2,500 kilometers. Not exactly a strategic bomber, as it had its in-flight refueling capability removed because of a disarmament treaty. But because Russia is so large, with air bases all over the place, the Tu-22M can show up over the Atlantic or Pacific. It's also one of the most reliable Russian bombers in service.

The Tu-160 Blackjack is very similar to the U.S. B-1, but never really lived up to its potential. Still, it is the most modern heavy bomber the Russians have. It's a 267 ton aircraft, that can carry up to 40 tons of bombs and missiles, for up to 12,000 kilometers. The aircraft can refuel in the air. It originally entered service in 1987, and was built to deliver cruise missiles. Noting the success of the B-1 in Afghanistan and Iraq with smart bombs, the Tu-160s were modified to do the same, in addition to retaining their cruise missile carrying capability.

Currently. Tu-160 and Tu-95MS heavy bombers are equipped to carry a dozen Kh-555 cruise missiles each. These missiles are upgrades of the Cold War era AS-15 nuclear cruise missile. The Kh-555 is 20 feet long, weighs 1.5 tons and has a range of 3,000 kilometers. An 800 pound conventional warhead appears to be a cluster bomb type (carrying bomblets). The missile uses inertial and satellite supplied guidance, and can hit within 100 meters of its aiming point. Russia says it will use these missiles to attack terrorist bases in foreign countries.

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