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The Russian Military Merged Thread- Air Force

Subtle Proof the Bear is stirring?? How about the ROSBORONEXPORT Hockey SUPERSERIES.
  In the Canada Russia Super Series plastered all ove rthe Russian Uniforms and the hockey arena boards is the sponser name ROSBORONEXPORT. No its not a cigarette company, its the " state-owned defense giant, Rosboronexport (Rosboroneksport, ROE), ((Russia's)) sole weapons exporter - a monopoly by decree"
 
geo said:
The russiona bear has been dancing a fair bit lately.  Mr Putin has been consolidating and flexing his economic muscle.  Flexing some military muscle will allow his troops to "feel good" and let his neighbours sweat a little.....

It's better to flex muscles from time to time than one day see at your door someone who decided to bring "democracy" in your home and leave with your oil   ;)
Bomber flights are reestablished just in order to maintain the strategic wing operational and able to do what it is supposed to do.

Eg:  That little missle attack that russia did not fire into Georgia.

This is a very doubtful conclusion.
As Georgians have not provided any credible proof AFAIK, and the conflict escalation is very beneficial for them, all this story seems to be a big Georgian provocation.
 
Flanker said:
It's better to flex muscles from time to time than one day see at your door someone who decided to bring "democracy" in your home and leave with your oil   ;)

You have seriously got issues, everything you touch on here gets poisoned with your agenda.

Mods, get rid of this guy!


Wes
 
Wesley  Down Under said:
You have seriously got issues, everything you touch on here gets poisoned with your agenda.  Mods, get rid of this guy! Wes

Isnt this the same guy who the other day was quoting peace and harmony between cultures and religions? (Flanker, not Wes)
 
Well now it's our turn....  for those of you who missed the front page of todays Globe and Mail...

cf18_500big.jpg


On the tail of the Russian Bear

IAN BAILEY

From Wednesday's Globe and Mail

October 3, 2007 at 12:33 AM EDT

VANCOUVER — Canadian fighter jets have twice been dispatched in recent weeks to monitor Russian bombers that have conducted training missions near North American airspace as part of a surge in such activity, officials with the North American Aerospace Defence Command said yesterday.

The Canadian actions, involving CF-18 Hornet jet fighters from Cold Lake, Alta., were among seven military exercises involving Russian Tu-95 Bear heavy bombers, which have caught NORAD's attention.

U.S. aircraft responded to the other five situations.

The flights come amid concerns about a Russia newly bullish about testing its military abilities, a posture that has prompted such flights in Europe as well.

In August, President Vladimir Putin announced Russia would resume long-range bomber flights over the Atlantic, Pacific and Arctic Oceans for the first time since the Soviet Union collapsed.

The flights also come as Canada and Russia are locked in a dispute over Arctic sovereignty, with both countries competing before a UN commission to extend their undersea boundaries and coastal economic zones. In August, a Russian expedition attempted to lay claim to the North Pole, planting a flag on the ocean floor. NORAD officials said yesterday the Russians gave advance notice of the bomber flights, but one noted they seem to have become more frequent after a quiet period of about a year.

“As far as the increased activity level, that is a little new,” said Captain Candice Miller, a public affairs officer with the Alaskan NORAD region, speaking from Elmendorf Air Force Base outside Anchorage.

Capt. Miller noted there was an interception last September, then nothing until the surge of seven incidents since July.

“Between September and the recent increased activity, we didn't have anything,” she said.

Richard Smith, a spokesman for 1 Canadian Air Division of the Canadian NORAD region headquarters in Winnipeg, played down any threat yesterday.

“The Russians are indicating, in advance, when these exercises are happening. They're not secret. They are not trying to keep them secret,” he said.

“These exercises aren't viewed as a threat because both the Russians and NORAD routinely exercise their capabilities to operate in the North.”

The first of the two incidents involving Canada occurred on Sept. 5, when two CF-18s were launched and identified Russian Bear bombers on exercises near the coast of Alaska and Canada.

Citing military protocols, Mr. Smith declined to detail the location of the Russian activity. All aircraft returned home without incident.

The most recent flight involving Canadians occurred on Sept. 19, when two CF-18s were again dispatched to an area Mr. Smith would only describe as being about 128 kilometres from Canadian air space. The Russian bombers were again monitored through their exercises without incident.

The Russians, he said, have described the operations as “training exercises” without providing additional details.

They have not actually filed flight plans with NORAD, but rather made their intentions clear in press reports monitored by NORAD so they know that flights will be in their regions of interest.

“We basically visually identify the aircraft and monitor their flights. The Russian aircraft basically follow international flight rules and the pilots were very professional in how they flew their aircraft. Things were not escalated in terms of their behaviour.”

This fall, Britain and Norway have had to dispatch their military aircraft to escort and intercept Russian military aircraft that have breached or come near their territory.
 
Flanker said:
It's better to flex muscles from time to time than one day see at your door someone who decided to bring "democracy" in your home and leave with your oil  ;)

So you are saying the 'Stans better start flexing their military muscle before Putin's forces "Liberate" them and puts GAZPROM in charge of their energy exports.
 
NORAD Commander's Response To Bears: File Flight Plans, Please!

Tue, 02 Oct '07
Scrambling Fighters Is A Waste Of Resources
Enough already. That was the message NORAD's General Gene Renuart had for Russian military planners Monday, as he urged the increasingly belligerent country to be more open with its plans to send Tu-95 bombers on patrols near the US and Canada.
As ANN has reported extensively, western countries have seen a sharp increase in the number of "Bear" patrols in recent months... a not-so-subtle show-of-force by the newly resurgent Russian air force. In addition to North America, since August Bears have also been sighted near the UK, Finland, and Guam.
In most cases, officials have scrambled fighters to intercept the wayward Cold War-era bombers, and escort them away from sensitive airspace -- just as was done when the nuclear-capable aircraft were flying under the Soviet hammer-and-sickle, and not the ostensibly democratic Russian flag.
Russian officials claim the increased flights are in response to global security threats... and are necessary to guarantee the country's safety.
There is nothing inherently confrontational about the flights, Renuart says -- so far, flights near the US and Canada have not come uncomfortably close to national borders, and flight crews on both sides have acted professionally -- but he does take issue with the Russians' clandestine nature in doing so.
Scrambling planes to intercept the bombers is a waste of time and resources, he says... especially since aerial tankers often have to be deployed to refuel fighters dispatched to intercept the planes.
The NORAD commander asked Russia to, at the very least, file flight plans when it sends Bears on reconnaissance missions... so NORAD knows the planes are not hostile.
"There is increased concern any time you have an unidentified aircraft approaching the airspace of either of the two nations," Renuart told Reuters. "If the Russians would file a flight plan just to state their intent and general routing that they would be on, that would ease one of our concerns ... Increasing the transparency reduces tension as you're out chasing around after an unknown aircraft."
Many Western experts believe the increase in Bear flights represents the more assertive foreign policy of Russian President Vladimir Putin... especially after years of neglect of that country's armed forces.
Renuart diplomatically avoided commenting on Russia's potentially more ominous intent in sending the planes towards the US.
 
Videos of Bears and Hornets (not together!):

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<object height="350" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/qOHTx_LPCmA"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/qOHTx_LPCmA" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" height="350" width="425"></embed></object>

Mark
Ottawa
 
Airmich quoting the NORAD Commander, Airmich turning to the Blue side.  ;D :salute:
Feel the Force. ;)
 
 You think Russia has more money after all the planes they rented to NATO & the UN.
  Wes +1 on your post.
 Flanker whats up with your profile, there's not a thing that makes you credable about what you say !, it must be your 2 cents !, Afgn.
 
This should heat up the debate for additional lift aircraft in Congress.

http://www.armytimes.com/news/2007/10/airforce_MRAP_russian_071026w/

MRAPs going to Iraq on Russian cargo planes
By Erik Holmes - Staff writer
Posted : Friday Oct 26, 2007 17:29:47 EDT

The Air Force has been forced to use Russian commercial cargo jets to rush mine-resistant ambush-protected vehicles from the U.S. to Iraq because it does not have enough C-5 and C-17 planes to do the job, the service’s top civilian official said recently.

Air Force Secretary Michael W. Wynne said at an Oct. 24 House Armed Services Committee hearing that American reliance on Russian Antonov jumbo jets to move critical war supplies indicates that the Air Force may need more than its current 300 C-5s and C-17s.

“We are now sharing the mission of flying MRAPs over to Iraq between C-17s and Antonov airplanes,” Wynne said. “Did [we] truly envision that we would fly war supplies with Russian-made airplanes? I don’t know.”

MRAP vehicles are the Defense Department’s top procurement priority, and the department this month ordered an additional 2,400 to help protect American servicemembers from roadside bombs in Iraq. The department has said it needs 15,274 MRAPs for all the services.

Wynne said the U.S. military has used the enormous Antonov planes to transport more than 200,000 pounds of cargo to Iraq.

Rep. Jim Saxton, R-N.J., said he was unaware that the Antonov airplanes are being used so extensively in the war effort.

The Russian-made Antonov An-124 is 25 percent larger than the C-5, the U.S. Air Force’s largest cargo plane. The AN-24 is operated primarily by Russian and Ukrainian freight companies, according to the Web site, Airliners.net.
 
Ummmm

Wynne said the U.S. military has used the enormous Antonov planes to transport more than 200,000 pounds of cargo to Iraq.

Is this supposed to be a lot?  Seems like one or two loads to me.
I know I wouldn't want to carry it by hand.... ;D


 
I wonder how outraged they would be if they knew how much tonnage Canada has transported in Russian Aircraft to A'stan. I guess maybe they actually wouldn't care.  But I guess the US has some transport shortfalls.
 
Flip said:
Is this supposed to be a lot?  Seems like one or two loads to me.

http://www.airliners.net/info/stats.main?id=40
Capacity
Flightcrew of six consisting of two pilots, two flight engineers, navigator and communications operator. Upper deck behind the flightdeck area features a galley, rest room and two relief crew cabins. Upper deck area behind the wing can accommodate up to 88 passengers. Main deck cargo compartment can carry a range of bulky and oversized cargos. The An-124's total payload in weight is 150 tonnes (330,695lb).

0349606.jpg

UR-82073 (cn 9773054359139/706) Look what fits in the belly of this huge aircraft! Six tanker trucks (77 tons)! These were sent by the Red Cross to Iraq on this special humanitarian flight from GVA to KWI.
 
:o Another warning sign that the Russian bear is yet again flexing its muscles?

On a side note, notice the little media error I highlighted in the article; even a civvy like myself knows the difference between a battleship and smaller ships like cruisers and destroyers, and the Russians haven't had a big-gun battleship since the 1950s.  ::) But of course, the media doesn't care, since all warships look the same to them.

http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/storypage.aspx?StoryID=106469

Russia bombers to test-fire missiles in Atlantic


Reuters

MOSCOW - Russia on Tuesday sent two long-range bombers to the Bay of Biscay, off the French and Spanish Atlantic coasts, to test-fire missiles in what it billed as its biggest navy exercise in the area since Soviet times.

British and Norwegian Tornado and F-16 jets were escorting the Russian 'Blackjack' bombers, Interfax reported, quoting the Russian Air Force.

However, the French Defense Ministry spokesman said his country had been informed about the Russian exercises.

Firing missiles off the coastline of two members of the NATO military alliance is the latest in a series of Kremlin moves flexing Moscow's military muscle on the world stage.

The Russian bombers joined aircraft carriers, battleships and submarine hunters from the Northern and Black Sea fleets for the Atlantic exercises, which come as the country enters an election campaign to choose a successor to President Vladimir Putin.

"The air force is taking a very active part in the exercises of the navy's strike force in the Atlantic," Russia's air force said in a statement.

"Today, two strategic Tu-160 bombers departed for exercises in the Bay of Biscay, which ... will carry out a number of missions and will conduct tactical missile launches," it said.

Putin, widely popular as his second four-year term draws to a close, has sought to use such moves to revive domestic and international respect for Russia's armed forces which were shattered by the chaos of the 1990s.

A former KGB lieutenant-colonel, Putin has boosted military spending, renewed long-range bomber missions and approved a plan to upgrade Russia's nuclear attack forces, which he said was needed after NATO built up its forces close to Russia's borders.

But some analysts note that while the sabre rattling is popular at home, Russian military spending in absolute terms is substantially lower than that of China, Britain or France and less than a tenth of that of the United States.

Discipline is still a major problem for Russia's armed forces, which rely heavily on conscripts and outdated equipment.

Atlantic exercise

Russia last month said it would begin major navy sorties into the Mediterranean, with 11 ships backed up by 47 aircraft, that would then travel to the Atlantic for exercises.

The navy's flagship aircraft carrier, the Soviet-made Admiral Kuznetsov, was leading the fleet in the Atlantic where NATO aircraft were trying to keep a close eye on Russian movements, Russian media reported.

"This is the biggest exercise of its kind in the area since Soviet times," a spokesman for Russia's navy said, adding that more details would be released later.

There was no further information about where in the Bay of Biscay, which lies off the West coast of France and the Northern coast of Spain, the missile tests were due to take place.

Russia's air force said turbo-prop Tupolev Tu-95 strategic bombers, codenamed "Bear" by NATO, would join the exercise on Wednesday.

"From January 23, the aviation component in the zone where the exercises are going on will be widened and the following planes will take part: Tu-160, Tu-95, Tu-22 M3, Il-78, A-50," the air force said.
 
Its been done years ago..........

http://www.nasa.gov/centers/dryden/news/FactSheets/FS-008-DFRC.html
 
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