Russian Bombers Options

[ABLAT Staff]

Russian bombers flew undetected across Arctic - AF commander
22/04/2006 13:40

MOSCOW, April 22 (RIA Novosti) - Russian military planes flew undetected through the U.S. zone of the Arctic Ocean to Canada during recent military exercises, a senior Air Force commander said Saturday.

The commander of the country's long-range strategic bombers, Lieutenant General Igor Khvorov, said the U.S. Air Force is now investigating why its military was unable to detect the Russian bombers.

"They were unable to detect the planes either with radars or visually," he said.

Khorov said that during the military exercises in April, Tu-160 Blackjack bombers and Tu-95 Bears had successfully carried out four missile launches. Bombing exercises were held using Tu-22 Blinders.

By the end of the year, two more Tu-160s will be commissioned for the long-range strategic bomber fleet, Khorov said.

Both new planes will incorporate numerous upgrades from the initial Soviet models, the commander said. The bombers will be able to launch both cruise missiles and aviation bombs, and communicate via satellite.


http://en.rian.ru/russia/20060422/46792049-print.html

[ABLAT Staff]

Russian Bombers Penetrate N. American Buffer Zone, Intercepted by U.S., Canadian Jet Fighters
Created: 30.09.2006 13:32 MSK

MosNews


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.”

http://www.mosnews.com/news/2006/09/30/rusbombers.shtml

Reports: Russia's long-range bombers approach Alaska during massive military exercise
The Associated Press

Published: September 29, 2006


MOSCOW The Russian air force held a massive exercise that involved strategic bombers flying across the North Pole and approaching Alaska, the Aleutian Islands and Japan, a top general said Friday.

Lt. Gen. Igor Khvorov, the commander of Russian long-range aviation, said the exercise that began Tuesday and finished Friday had nothing to do with heightening tensions between Russia and Georgia, Russian news reports said.

Georgia detained four Russian officers on spying charges this week, triggering one of the worst crises between the ex-Soviet neighbors since the 1991 Soviet collapse.

Khvorov said the exercise involved 70 Tu-160, Tu-95 and Tu-22M3 bombers, which test-fired 18 cruise missiles, the RIA Novosti news agency reported.

He said some bombers crossed the Arctic Ocean, flew over the North Pole and also reached Alaska, the Aleutian Islands and Japan's western coast without entering any country's airspace.

"All the aircraft involved flew over neutral waters, and none of them came closer than 12 nautical miles (25 kilometers; 16 miles) to the maritime borders of any country," Khvorov said, according to RIA Novosti.

Meanwhile, the Russian Strategic Missile Forces said in a statement that it held a command post exercise aimed at practicing the transfer of troops from a peacetime to a wartime posture and warfare using conventional and nuclear weapons, the Interfax news agency reported.

A flow of petrodollars has allowed the Russian government to steadily increase its military budget in recent years, a sharp contrast with dire funding shortages after the 1991 Soviet collapse. Russian military exercises have grown in scope and become more regular.

President Vladimir Putin said that Russia wants to maintain friendly ties with the United States, but he bristled at U.S. criticism of the Kremlin's policy, insisted that Moscow needs to protect its interests in former Soviet nations and vowed to strengthen Russia's military might.

MOSCOW The Russian air force held a massive exercise that involved strategic bombers flying across the North Pole and approaching Alaska, the Aleutian Islands and Japan, a top general said Friday.

Lt. Gen. Igor Khvorov, the commander of Russian long-range aviation, said the exercise that began Tuesday and finished Friday had nothing to do with heightening tensions between Russia and Georgia, Russian news reports said.

Georgia detained four Russian officers on spying charges this week, triggering one of the worst crises between the ex-Soviet neighbors since the 1991 Soviet collapse.

Khvorov said the exercise involved 70 Tu-160, Tu-95 and Tu-22M3 bombers, which test-fired 18 cruise missiles, the RIA Novosti news agency reported.

He said some bombers crossed the Arctic Ocean, flew over the North Pole and also reached Alaska, the Aleutian Islands and Japan's western coast without entering any country's airspace.

"All the aircraft involved flew over neutral waters, and none of them came closer than 12 nautical miles (25 kilometers; 16 miles) to the maritime borders of any country," Khvorov said, according to RIA Novosti.

Meanwhile, the Russian Strategic Missile Forces said in a statement that it held a command post exercise aimed at practicing the transfer of troops from a peacetime to a wartime posture and warfare using conventional and nuclear weapons, the Interfax news agency reported.

A flow of petrodollars has allowed the Russian government to steadily increase its military budget in recent years, a sharp contrast with dire funding shortages after the 1991 Soviet collapse. Russian military exercises have grown in scope and become more regular.

President Vladimir Putin said that Russia wants to maintain friendly ties with the United States, but he bristled at U.S. criticism of the Kremlin's policy, insisted that Moscow needs to protect its interests in former Soviet nations and vowed to strengthen Russia's military might.


http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2006/09/29/...ry_Exercise.php

[ABLAT Staff]

From Times Online

July 18, 2007
RAF scrambles to intercept Russian bombers
Richard Beeston, Diplomatic Editor

RAF fighter jets were scrambled to intercept two Russian strategic bombers heading for British airspace yesterday, as the spirit of the Cold War returned to the North Atlantic once again.

The incident, described as rare by the RAF, served as a telling metaphor for the stand-off between London and Moscow over the murder of Alexander Litvinenko.

While the Kremlin hesitated before responding to Britain’s expulsion of four diplomats, the Russian military engaged in some old-fashioned sabre-rattling.

Two Tu95 “Bear” bombers were dispatched from their base on the Kola Peninsula in the Arctic Circle and headed towards British airspace.

Russian military aircraft based near the northern port city of Murmansk fly patrols off the Norwegian coast regularly, but the RAF said that it was highly unusual for them to stray as far south as Scotland.

Two Tornado fighters, part of the RAF’s Quick Reaction Alert, took off from RAF Leeming, in Yorkshire, to confront the Russian aircraft, after they were shadowed by two F16s from the Royal Norwegian Air Force, The Times has learnt.

“The Russians turned back before they reached British airspace,” an RAF spokesman said.

There was no evidence to suggest that the incident was connected with the diplomatic row over the extradition of Andrei Lugovoy, the main suspect in the murder of Litvinenko.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/worl...icle2093759.ece

[ABLAT Staff]

British Fighter Jets Scrambled as Russian Bombers Approach Airspace

Friday , July 20, 2007
AP

LONDON —
Fighter planes from Britain and Norway scrambled on Friday to keep watch on Russian bombers that were approaching the countries' air space, officials said.

The incidents occurred amid high tensions between Britain and Russia, as each country ordered the expulsion of four diplomats from the other side. There was no indication that the fighter plans were connected to the row.

Norwegian military spokesman Lt. Col. John Inge Oeglaend told The Associated Press said his country's F-16s were sent into action twice: once when two Russian Tu-95 bombers headed south along the Norwegian coast in international air space. They turned around above Aberdeen on Scotland's North Sea coast.

In the second, two Tu-160 bombers were spotted flying near Norwegian air space over the Barents Sea, he said.

Oeglaend characterized the incidents as routine and but said it was a "bit unusual that the first two bombers went so far south." Aberdeen's latitude is about 50 miles below the southern tip of Norway.

Russian Air Force spokesman Col. Alexander Drobyshevsky said British and Norwegian planes approaching bombers on training flights were a "normal occurrence."

A spokesman for Britain's Royal Air Force said he had no immediate information on the reports. British media earlier reported that RAF planes had approached Russian bombers on Tuesday as they headed toward British air space.

Britain on Monday ordered four diplomats to leave as punishment for Russia's refusal to extradite the man named by Britain as the chief suspect in last year's killing in London of ex-Russian security officer-turned-Kremlin critic Alexander Litvinenko.

Russia on Thursday ordered four British diplomats to leave in a reciprocal move.

That response appeared to indicate that neither side wished to escalate the tensions further. Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday expressed confidence the nations would overcome their differences.

http://www.foxnews.com/printer_friendly_st...,290111,00.html

[ABLAT Staff]

Buzzed by the bear - RAF tornados scramble to meet Russian intruders
by CHRISTIAN GYSIN - Last updated at 23:16pm on 20th July 2007

RAF jets were scrambled twice yesterday to intercept Russian aircraft heading for and inside British airspace.

Tornado fighters had already been sent up on Tuesday to meet two bombers approaching Britain from a Russian base in the Arctic Circle.

A Ministry of Defence spokesman said it was "rare and unusual" for three incidents to follow so closely.

The aerial tensions come amid titfortat expulsions of diplomats following the Kremlin's refusal to extradite radiation murder suspect Andrei Lugovoy.

Russia's foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, said last night he wanted to see a return to "normal relations" with Britain.

But the arrival in yesterday's early hours of the Tupolev aircraft - also known as Bears - suggests president Vladimir Putin is not backing down.

Two Tornados were scrambled from RAF Leeming, near Darlington, after two Tu95 bombers were picked up on radar. They were intercepted inside British airspace shortly after 2am but, with the RAF pilots on their tail, the intruders turned and flew north.

Another alert a few hours later led to the scrambling of two more Tornados. RAF sources said the planes were recalled when it turned out that the Tu160 Blackjack bomber was only on the "fringes of UK airspace". It also made off to the north from a position off Scotland.

Tuesday's incident saw two Tu95s approached by Norwegian F16s and RAF Tornados off the coast of Norway.

Russian air force commander Colonel Alexander Zein said the encounter had no connection with the political row between London and Moscow.

"Our planes were flying planned flights over neutral waters," he insisted. Yesterday a Russian air force spokesman said all the sorties were training flights.

The Tu95 can carry missiles as well as undertake surveillance missions.

With a range of more than 8,000 miles at a top speed of 575mph, it was the Russian answer to the American B-52. The Tu95 took its maiden flight in the early 1950s and was designed to drop nuclear weapons.

It has been redesigned to carry cruise missiles and can even be converted for use as a civilian airliner.

The Tu160, which can reach speeds of up to 1,380mph, was brought into service in the 1980s.

Nicknamed the White Swan by its Russian pilots, it can carry up to 88,000 lbs of ordnance including either cruise or short-range nuclear missiles.

Russian authorities would not disclose whether the planes in this week's incidents were carrying bombs or simply on surveillance duties.

On a visit to Paris yesterday, Gordon Brown insisted that Mr Lugovoy, the prime suspect in the murder of exiled dissident Alexander Litvinenko, must be extradited to face trial in the UK.

Russia has insisted however that it can deal with the case through its own justice system.

Mr Litvinenko, who like Mr Lugovoy was a former agent of the FSB - the successor to the Communist-era KGB - died in a London hospital last November from a fatal dose of the extremely rare radioactive isotope polonium-210.

A British citizen, he was a fierce critic of Mr Putin's regime and had close links with a network of expatriatedissidents, both in the UK and New York.

He and Mr Lugovoy met at the Millennium Hotel in London's Grosvenor Square on the day he was poisoned.

Mr Brown said: "We had to take difficult decisions in relation to the Litvinenko case and we will not tolerate a situation where a British citizen is assassinated on British

"Our first duty is to protect our citizens and to prevent there being lawlessness in the streets of London."

Britain announced on Monday it was expelling four Russian diplomats from London.

Moscow retaliated on Thursday, saying four Britons would be kicked out of Russia.

The RAF tried to play down suggestions that the three separate incidents involving Russian planes were linked to political tensions.

Mr Lugovoy yesterday claimed that the British secret services attempted to recruit him in a spying mission to gather compromising material about the Mr Putin.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/arti...in_page_id=1811

[ABLAT Staff]

Britain Sounds Air Raid Warning
// London Newspapers Track Russian Bombers

July 19, 2007

Great Britain has opened a new front in the battle against Russia. Yesterday the British press reported that London is swarming with Russian agents who tried to kill Boris Berezovsky, and that Russian bombers have appeared over the country's borders. In essence, London has begun an information war aimed at convincing the European Union to voice more decisive support for the UK in its conflict with Russia.
Yesterday the British press was full of reports about new threats from Russia. The headlines of all the major papers were devoted to two topics: the appearance of Russian TU-95MC strategic bombers close to the airspace of the United Kingdom, and the revelation of an assassination attempt against Boris Berezovsky. The press reported that on Tuesday, two RAF Tornado fighter jets were scrambled to intercept Russian bombers that were approaching UK airspace near Scotland. "Russian military aircraft based near the northern port city of Murmansk fly patrols off the Norwegian coast regularly, but the RAF said that it was highly unusual for them to stray as far south as Scotland," said The Times, adding that "the spirit of the Cold War [has] returned to the North Atlantic once again."

Quoting anonymous sources in the RAF, the British press reported that the Russian TU-95 jets, known in the West as "Bears," were first shadowed by two F16s from the Norwegian Air Force. The pilots immediately informed their British colleagues about the approaching bombers, but the Russian jets turned back before reaching British airspace.

This incident was immediately linked with the confrontation between London and Moscow over Russia's refusal to hand Andrei Lugovoi over to the British legal authorities. "While the Kremlin hesitated before responding to Britain’s expulsion of four diplomats, the Russian military engaged in some old-fashioned sabre-rattling," concluded The Times.

The second piece of sensational news to explode in the British press concerned the Russian businessman Boris Berezovsky, who lives in London. According to The Times and The Sun, the vigilance of Scotland Yard has foiled an assassination attempt on the fallen oligarch. Quoting anonymous sources in the British security services, the newspapers reported that a killer of Russian origin, whose name was not given, had planned to settle scores with Mr. Berezovsky in the Hilton Hotel on Park Lane, in the center of the British capital. According to reports, however, MI5 and MI6 intelligence agents, together with operatives from the antiterrorism division of the London police, had mounted round-the-clock surveillance of the hunter and his prey. The television news channels ITV and SkyNews went on to report the further details of the case: in order not to attract attention, the hired killer went into the Hilton accompanied by a child, but he was immediately seized by police, his British visa was cancelled, and he was quickly deported.

This incident apparently took place two weeks ago, but the intervening time period has done nothing to dampen Britain's indignation: "We cannot tolerate a situation where Russian hit squads can roam the streets of London trying to take out enemies of their regime," a source in the British government who deals with security issues was reported as saying.

These revelations in the British press also touched a nerve with Russian officials. "The reports that Russian bombers were heading in the direction of British airspace do not accord with reality. Such flights have been carried out and are carried out according to a plan of preparing crews for long flights," said Russian Air Force spokesman Alexander Drobyshevsky. "We planned flights in international airspace in advance and informed interested countries about them." The Russian Foreign Ministry was even more blunt in its remarks: "Everyone is free to fly wherever they like, as long as they don't violate [any laws]. So there isn't any story here," Foreign Ministry spokesman Andrei Kritsov told Kommersant. "They sounded the alert because there is a campaign afoot to portray Russians as bad."

In a comment to the BBC concerning the Berezovsky affair, Yury Fedotov, the Russian ambassador in London, said that "it is quite strange information, and I have nothing that could confirm it. But it does not surprise me, because Berezovsky uses any opportunity, including those he invents himself, to attract attention to himself."

Interestingly, the Russian authorities did not react to any official accusations, choosing instead to respond to the media reports at a time when the British government itself was maintaining its composure. A spokesman from the UK Ministry of Defense told Kommersant that the TU-95 bombers were noticed over the North Sea but that they had not violated British airspace and thus were not intercepted. "We do not in any way connect this incident with the expulsion of the Russian diplomats and consider all attempts to connect these events to be pure speculation," the ministry's press service told Kommersant. The ministry also told Kommersant that it is expressing the position of the British government, meaning that the Foreign Office does not intend to react to the incident. "We agree that the event bears no relation to the expulsion of the Russian diplomats or to our demand to extradite Mr. Lugovoi," confirmed a spokesman for the British Foreign Office.

This diplomatic stance by the British authorities is curious, given that the leaks to the press came from MI6 and the RAF, both government entities. In any case, these leaks achieved at least one goal: they helped consolidate British public opinion, which was far from being unanimously in favor of the actions of the Foreign Office in the row over the extradition of Mr. Lugovoi. For example, several British media outlets have mentioned that London's reputation when it comes to extradition is far from spotless: in 2000, the British Home Office refused to hand over the former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet to Spain after he was arrested in London. After this double blow landed by the British press yesterday, however, no doubts are expected regarding the correctness of the course taken by the British government.

By all accounts, the frightening story of Boris Berezovsky and the Russian bombers is also being deployed to consolidate European popular opinion by demonstrating that Britain's anti-Moscow rhetoric is a necessary political tack, not a caprice of the new government or of David Miliband, the youthful new head of the UK Foreign Office. This is particularly crucial in the wake of the appeal to the EU on Tuesday by Russian deputy foreign minister Alexander Grushko. As of yesterday, only the French Foreign Ministry had expressed reserved support for Great Britain's position.

The expansion of the conflict means that the reason for London's displeasure with Moscow is not simply the Lugovoi affair. In his recent address to Parliament, in which he criticized Russia for not handing over Andrei Lugovoi, David Miliband brought up several previous discords between the two countries: the persecution of the British Council in Russia and the harassment of British Ambassador to Russia Tony Brenton by activists of the Nashi youth movement. In other words, the British political elite has an axe to grind with Russia in general, and the new cabinet, which unlike Tony Blair's government has no previous obligations to Moscow, is prepared to speak up.

London's aggravated response testifies to the beginning of a new stage in Russian foreign policy. Previously, the Kremlin's main opponents in Europe were some of the EU's newest members, Estonia and Poland. Now, however, influential London is becoming Moscow's main antagonist. With its calls to its colleagues in the European Union to take a harsher line in relation to Russia, London promises to be quite a dangerous adversary.

How Boris Berezovsky Was Saved

Boris Berezovsky told Kommersant that approximately three months ago, "anti-Putin" members of one of the Russian special services approached him in London. According to Mr. Berezovsky, they were still in active government service when he met them. "They said that the Kremlin had decided to have me liquidated. A businessman acquaintance of mine was supposed to kill me during a meeting," said Mr. Berezovsky, who lives in self-imposed political exile in London. "After the murder, instead of escaping and going into hiding, he was supposed to give himself up to the police and say that the crime was committed because of a business dispute between us." Under English law, believes Mr. Berezovsky, the murderer "would have been given 20 years, served half, and then, after being released for good behavior, would have become a Hero of Russia." His new acquaintances told Mr. Berezovsky that, in addition to receiving the medal, "the murderer would be paid so much that his family would not need for anything" while their provider was serving his sentence. After hearing out his visitors from Moscow, Mr. Berezovsky contacted his lawyers, who filed a report with the police. Approximately three weeks ago, an investigator from Scotland Yard came to Mr. Berezovsky's office with the news that an attempt on his life really was being planned and that he should leave the country "until the crisis is resolved." Mr. Berezovsky left London and went into hiding in a country that he refused to name.

He is certain that the same forces that killed Alexander Litvinenko are behind the attempt on his life: "Putin even signed a decree last year allowing the special services to carry out operations abroad," he said. When asked by Kommersant why the English police had released the purported assassin by sending him out of the country, Mr. Berezovsky replied, "and why would this person, if he's not guilty, keep his mouth shut and not cry that an innocent man was being expelled [from the country]? This confirms again that he was a criminal."

Vladislav Trifonov

Vladimir Solovyov and Mikhail Zygar

http://www.kommersant.com/p783711/r_547/Br...mbers,_Lugovoi/

[ABLAT Staff]

Russia resumes Cold War style missions
Thursday, 9 August 2007 17:46

Russia has resumed Cold War-style long-haul air missions to areas patrolled by NATO and the United States.

This afternoon a Russian bomber flew over a US naval base on the Pacific island of Guam and 'exchanged smiles' with US pilots who had been scrambled to track it.

Major-General Pavel Androsov, head of long-range aviation in the Russian air force, confirmed that Russia had decided to revive the tradition 'of long-range aviation to fly far into the ocean, to meet US aircraft carriers and greet US pilots visually'.
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In recent years Russian President Vladimir Putin has sought to boost defence spending in order to raise morale in the armed forces, which were starved of funding following the fall of the Soviet Union.

Major-General Androsov said the sortie by the two Tu-95MS bombers lasted for 13 hours.

The Tu95, a Russian Cold war icon, gives Russia the capability of launching a nuclear strike even if the nuclear arsenals on its own territory are wiped out.

During the Cold War such aircraft played elaborate airborne games of cat-and-mouse with Western air forces.

Under Mr Putin, the Russian Airforce is no longer in need of fuel, enjoys better maintenance and much higher wages. This contrasts with the 1990s, when many pilots were grounded because there was no money to buy fuel.

http://www.rte.ie/news/2007/0809/russia.html

[ABLAT Staff]

Russia boasts buzzing U.S. base in Cold War-style assertiveness
August 10, 2007

By Andrew Borowiec - GENEVA —Russian long-range bombers buzzed a U.S. naval base at Guam, Russian military officials said yesterday, the first such sortie since the Cold War and just the latest example of Moscow's growing assertiveness in reclaiming some of the prerogatives of its Soviet superpower days.

Russian Maj. Gen. Pavel Androsov boasted in a Moscow press conference that the pilots of the two TU-95 turboprop bombers flew close enough to the U.S. jets that scrambled to track them Wednesday that the Russian pilots were able to "exchange smiles" with their American counterparts.

The unannounced, 13-hour flight was just the latest in a series of incidents that have given rise to fears across Europe that Russia's post-communist opening to the world is increasingly giving way to a more inward-looking, nationalist fervor under President Vladimir Putin.

Pentagon spokesman Navy Lt. Cmdr. Chito Peppler confirmed the flight of the two Russian bombers, but said they did not come as close to U.S. assets as the Russians suggested.

"We were prepared to intercept the planes, but they never came close enough to a U.S. ship or to the island of Guam to warrant an air-to-air intercept," he said.

Russia under Mr. Putin rejects Western criticisms of its economy and political freedoms and shows a growing official appreciation in government, the press and education for the achievements of the communist era, according to Western analysts.

Recent Russian films reaching Western Europe portray Josef Stalin not as a brutal dictator responsible for the deaths of millions of Russians, but as a heroic leader who defeated Nazi Germany.

"In Russia today, any call to restore former Cold War greatness and stature is applauded," according to Pavel Felgenhauer, a Russian military analyst for the Jamestown Foundation, though Mr. Felgenhauer questions whether the Kremlin has the resources and will to match Mr. Putin's grandiose rhetoric.

Russian government officials have been conspicuously absent from events this year marking the 70th anniversary of Stalin's Great Purge of 1937, when millions of citizens were killed or shipped off to labor camps.

Mr. Putin, in remarks earlier this summer, did not defend the Stalin purges, but said Russians today should not wallow in shame or guilt because "in other countries even worse things happened" — including the U.S. atomic bomb strikes on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Liberal opposition leader Grigory Yavlinsky said at a memorial ceremony south of Moscow on Wednesday that the Putin government was "almost completely ignoring" the Great Purge anniversary, "one of the most convincing pieces of evidence that Russian authorities sympathize with Stalin's regime," according to the Associated Press.

Disclosures of Stalinist purges and massacres are being discouraged, analysts say, and school textbooks are being rewritten to include the "positive sides" of the communist era.

The back-to-the-Cold-War sentiment can be seen particularly in Russian military policy, with the Guam mission part of a pattern of events that call to mind the Soviet Cold War era.

Russian explorers who planted a flag on the North Pole seabed to strengthen Moscow's territorial claims received a heroes' welcome earlier this week in the Russian press, despite angry rejections of the Russian claim by the United States, Canada, Denmark and Norway.

Last week, Russia's navy chief, Adm. Vladimir Masorin, sounded another echo of the Soviet era when he said that Russia "must restore a permanent naval presence in the Mediterranean Sea" — a presence Moscow has not had since the Cold War.

The Russian reassertiveness is being felt even in the arts.

According to Russian movie producer Nikita Dostal, plans for films depicting Soviet setbacks or events such as Stalin's massive ethnic resettlements or the 1937 purges are "simply set aside."

In some recent films, Stalin is not portrayed as the short man with a pock-marked face he was, but as a dignified, handsome leader who inspired victory.

The resurgence of nationalism reflects the popular feeling that the United States and the West exploited Russia's weakness after the Soviet collapse and the fact that the Kremlin's coffers are now bulging because of energy revenue, according to Ariel Cohen, a Russia specialist at the Heritage Foundation.

"Flush with cash, Russia today is constantly looking for avenues to boost its geopolitical muscle," he said. "That has translated into some very ambitious strategic programs."

• David R. Sands contributed to this article from Washington.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/apps/pbcs.d...mplate=printart

[ABLAT Staff]

Russian bombers buzz US base in Guam

By Adrian Blomfield in Moscow
Last Updated: 11:18am BST 10/08/2007

Russian bombers are reported to have buzzed an American military base for the first time since the Cold War when they flew over the Pacific island of Guam.

Moscow said that US fighter jets were scrambled to intercept the two Tupolev-95 warplanes as they resumed the Cold War era practice of flying over Western offshore military installations in a mission on Wednesday.

The incident, seen as the latest attempt by a revitalised Russia to project its military might, is likely to have unnerved the Pentagon and caused further perplexity at the State Department over the Kremlin's mercurial course.

The US military was silent about the mid-air confrontation but the Russians were happy to boast about it.

"It was always the tradition of our long-range aviation to fly far into the ocean, to meet (US) aircraft carriers and greet (US) pilots visually," Maj Gen Pavel Androsov, the head of long-range aviation in the Russian air force, told a press conference in Moscow.

"Yesterday we revived this tradition."

According to the general, two Tupolev-95 bombers flew from Blagoveshchensk, on Russia's border with China, to the US naval base at Guam in the West Pacific during a 13-hour round trip on Wednesday.

Capable of carrying nuclear bombs, the Tu-95 was the Soviet Union's aviation icon. A lumbering beast, it was instantly recognisable to every US fighter pilot who had to escort the aircraft on its regular sorties down the American east coast.

A new generation of pilots may now have to get used to doing the same.

According to Gen Androsov, American fighters took off from an aircraft carrier and tracked the bombers until they left Guam's airspace. "We exchanged smiles and returned home," he said.

The return of the airborne games of cat-and-mouse is likely to elicit queasier grins in Western capitals, where military chiefs will be puzzling over how to respond to Russia's increasingly frequent displays of defiance.

Last month RAF Tornado fighters were twice forced to scramble after Tu-95 bombers flew close to British airspace.

Keen to get their share of attention — and perhaps the approval of President Vladimir Putin — Russia's most senior admirals last week called for the establishment of a permanent naval base in the Mediterranean for the first time since the Cold War.

East-West relations also came under renewed strain after the United States appeared to blame Russia for a missile strike against Georgia on Monday that took the diplomatic crisis between the two ex-Soviet neighbours to new depths.

"The US condemns the Aug 6 rocket attack against Georgia," said Sean McCormack, a state department spokesman. "We praise Georgia's continuing restraint in the face of this air attack and call for the urgent clarification of the facts surrounding this incident."

Moscow has strongly denied involvement in the incident and has accused Georgia of "provocation".

Russia's military posturing is partly a desperate desire to show that the armed forces have recovered from the decline in the penurious 1990s, when planes were frequently grounded because the air force could not pay its fuel bills.

The vocal condemnation of Russia's mission last week to plant a flag under the North Pole, a stunt that would once have been laughed off, was a telling example of the international community's growing distrust of Mr Putin.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml.../wrussia109.xml

[ABLAT Staff]

Please also see the following article that may relate to the one above...

The maneuvers beginning Monday, Aug. 6, in waters off Guam include the simultaneous deployment of three carriers and their air and naval strike groups: USS Stennis, USS Nimitz and USS Kitty Hawk, altogether 30 warships, 280 warplanes and 22,000 soldiers and sailors. The exercise is commanded by Adm. Robert Willard, Pacific Fleet chief.

http://www.debka.com/headline.php?hid=4470

[ABLAT Staff]

Russia said flying more missions near U.S. territory
Mon Aug 13, 2007 7:07 PM EDT161

By Kristin Roberts

PETERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Colo. (Reuters) - Russian bombers are flying more missions than normal near U.S. territory, including Alaska, demonstrating their long-range strike capability, U.S. and Canadian officials said on Monday.

Russian aircraft carrying cruise missiles ran an aviation exercise near Alaska two weeks ago, according to Canadian Col. Andre Dupuis, an officer at the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD), a U.S.-Canadian operation responsible for protecting both countries' airspace.

"They didn't do it to practice alone. They're making a point, doing it outside of their normal training cycle," he told Reuters. "They maintain capability."

Russian bombers were also tracked last week flying a course toward Guam, a U.S. territory in the Pacific.

Some analysts and defense officials say the flights likely reflect Moscow's desire to display its military muscle to remind Washington of Russia's capabilities and express dismay over U.S. plans to build a missile shield in Eastern Europe.

One defense official called the Russian flights "a little bit of chest pounding, trying to let people know Russia's back in the game."

"Over the last probably three months or so the Russians have been flying their bomber force maybe a little bit more than we've seen in the past, certainly they're ranging farther than they have in the past," said U.S. Air Force Gen. Gene Renuart, commander of NORAD and U.S. Northern Command.

"We've had a couple times where we've intercepted them out over international waters, near Alaska."

Relations between Washington and Moscow have been strained, partly by U.S. plans to put missile defense assets in former Soviet-allied territory.

Since meeting with U.S. officials to discuss the missile shield plans earlier this year, Moscow has issued a series of statements about building its military power.

In July, President Vladimir Putin told his top military and security officials that Russia needed to boost its armed forces and intelligence potential in the face of new security threats, including U.S. military plans in Europe.

Russia's navy chief has also said his country should have a permanent naval presence in the Mediterranean, mirroring the Soviet Union's military ambitions.

The head of long-range aviation in Russia's air force last week described the bomber flight over Guam as a revival of the long-haul missions to U.S.-patrolled areas common during the Cold War.

But Renuart downplayed concern about the increase in Russian military flights.

"I think clearly there's a political dynamic that's occurring right now with Russia. They're exercising I think some of their military capabilities coincident with some of the statements that have been made in the government," he said.

"But it's not provocative in any way. They follow the international rules. They've been very professional in how they've flown the flights, so I don't see anything reckless in it."

Renuart also said Russia's military generally warns its U.S. counterparts in advance of training exercises.

"A couple times, it's been a bit of a surprise," he said

http://ca.today.reuters.com/news/newsArtic...;archived=False

[ABLAT Staff]

Russia Conducts Bomber Drills Over North Pole

Russia yesterday started a five-day period of drills using nuclear-capable strategic bombers over the North Pole to launch cruise missiles, practice navigation and conduct aerial refueling exercises, Agence France-Presse reported (see GSN, Aug. 15).

The drills announced by the Russian air force are the latest in a series of exercises Russia has carried out in recent months using strategic bombers.

A Russian air force officer said U.S. military aircraft were likely to be seen during the drills.

“It is a traditional practice for military pilots to see foreign pilots come up to meet them and say to hello,” he said.

"The United States [is] aware of our exercise,” he said.

About 30 Russian planes are expected to participate in the drills, including Tu-95 long-range strategic bombers, Tu-22 strategic supersonic bombers, and four-engine Il-78 aerial refueling craft (Agence France-Presse/Spacewar.com, Aug. 14).

http://www.nti.org/d_newswire/issues/2007_8_15.html#6405DAA9

[ABLAT Staff]

Russia resumes long-range strategic flights
www.chinaview.cn 2007-08-21 21:50:17

MOSCOW, Aug. 21 (Xinhua) -- Aircraft from Russia's long-range aviation group are flying continuous alert missions but without nuclear weapons on board, a senior Russian official told reporters here Tuesday.

"All such planes are provided with training missiles," deputy commander of the group Major-General Anatoly Zhikharev was quoted by the Itar-Tass news agency as saying.

"Continuous alert missions were resumed on Aug. 17 on the decision of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief and President of the Russian Federation (Vladimir Putin) after an interval, which had lasted since 1992," Zhikharev said.

"They are being flown in difficult conditions, including pre-reconnaissance, refueling in the air, and in opposition to fighters of NATO and other countries," he added.

"We have continued the Soviet times tradition and are flying missions in the north-eastern part of the Atlantic Ocean, over the Norwegian, Northern and Japanese Seas, and also beyond the North Pole and over the Aleutian Islands," Zhikharev said, adding that "Russian pilots are not intruding into foreign airspace."

"There is nothing aggressive in respect to other countries," he stressed. "Two crew rotations a week are needed to keep the pilot strained and this is a normal regime for the Air Force," he said.

While observing the final stage of the "Peace Mission 2007" anti-terror drill at Chelyabinsk in Russia's Ural Mountains region Friday, President Vladimir Putin said Russia was resuming long-range strategic flights on a permanent basis from that day.

"Four strategic missile carriers, support planes, and tanker aircraft took off from seven Russian airfields in various parts of the country at 00:00, Moscow time, (2000 GMT Thursday) on Aug. 17.Combat alert has begun," Putin was quoted by the Itar-Tass news agency as saying.

In 1992, Russia unilaterally stopped flights of its strategic aviation group in remote combat areas. However, "not all of the countries followed suit" and that has created certain problems forRussia's security, Putin said.

"For this reason I have made the decision on the resumption of flights of Russian strategic aviation," he added.

He believed that Russia's partners would meet the resumption ofsuch flights with "understanding."

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2007-08/...ent_6578962.htm

[ABLAT Staff]

State Department says Russian bombers are no concern
by John Tracy
Monday, Aug. 20, 2007

ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- The Russians are back in the skies between Alaska and eastern Russia.

Russian President Vladimir Putin last Friday sent 20 Soviet bombers over the Pacific, Arctic and Atlantic oceans in a show of force.

National reports say at least one bomber was intercepted by fighters out of Alaska but there has been no confirmation from the Air Force.

Russia canceled the long range flights in 1992.

Putin says he's restoring the flights because of security threats posed by other military powers.

The U.S. State Department called the development "interesting," but said the U.S. was not threatened by bombers that a spokesman described as being "pulled out of mothballs."

http://www.ktuu.com/Global/story.asp?S=6958855

[ABLAT Staff]

Russian Bombers Rehearse Nuclear Attacks Against the United States
Richard Weitz | Bio | 20 Aug 2007
World Politics Review Exclusive

Calling on Russian pilots to resume "combat duty," Russian President Vladimir Putin announced Aug. 17 that his country's strategic nuclear bombers would resume their Cold War-era practice of conducting long-range patrols "on a permanent basis." He told reporters that "our pilots have spent too long on the ground. I know that they are happy to now have this chance to begin a new life and we wish them luck." Although the main function of these aircraft is to conduct nuclear missile strikes against the continental United States, Putin said he hoped that other countries would show "understanding" for the Russian decision.

Perhaps to Moscow's surprise, representatives of the Bush administration did precisely that. In Crawford, Texas, where the president was vacationing, White House spokesperson Gordon D. Johndroe told reporters that, "Militaries around the world engage in a variety of different activities." In Washington, State Department spokesperson Sean McCormack said that Moscow's action was not threatening since the two countries "certainly are not in the kind of posture we were with what used to be the Soviet Union." Alluding to the age and technological backwardness of the planes, McCormack added that, "If Russia feels as though they want to take some of these old aircraft out of mothballs and get them flying again, that's their decision."

Some analysts might not be so sanguine. Russia's aging equipment and Russian air crews with less comprehensive training than their American or Soviet-era counterparts make the bombers more vulnerable to mechanical problems. During the Cold War, Soviet and U.S. bombers transporting nuclear weapons sometimes crashed, leading to costly environmental restoration programs and other hazards. At present, it is unclear whether they are carrying nuclear warheads on their patrols, though Putin's use of the term "combat duty" suggests such a possibility.

Russia's existing strategic bomber fleet consists almost exclusively of Soviet-manufactured platforms capable of launching long-range air-launched cruise missiles (ALCMs) armed with nuclear warheads. The Russian Air Force currently deploys 40 Tu-95MS Bear-H long-range heavy bombers, 14 Tu-160 Blackjack modern strategic bombers, and 141 Tu-22M3 Backfire-C theater bombers. The planes can also launch nuclear-armed short-range attack missiles and drop nuclear gravity bombs as well as conventional bombs.

In January 2007, Vladimir Mikhailov, the commander-in-chief of the Russian Air Force, said Russia would commission approximately two new or modernized Tu-160 strategic bombers every three years. He added that Russia would continue to modernize the avionics and other components of the existing fleet as well as its support infrastructure. For example, the Russian Air Force has begun upgrading the Tu-160s, which have a range of over 10,000 kilometers, to deliver conventionally armed missiles or up to 40 tons of high-explosive gravity bombs as well as their typical load of 12 Kh-55 ALCMs with a range of some 3,000 kilometers.

The international community received a precursor of Putin's Aug. 17 announcement when Russia's strategic aviation force engaged in a major set of exercises the previous week. Over a three-day period, Russian bombers conducted 40 sorties, test launched eight cruise missiles, simulated bombing runs, and flew over the Arctic, Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.

On Aug. 8, two Tu-95 bombers flew near the major U.S. military base on the Pacific Island of Guam for the first time since the Soviet era. At a Moscow news conference, Maj. Gen. Pavel Androsov, head of long-range military aviation, said that the planes had flown for 13 hours over neutral waters after taking off from a base near Blagoveshchensk in the Far East. At the time, the U.S. military was conducting a major military exercise of its own -- Exercise Valiant Shield -- on the island with the Japanese involving 30 navy ships, 275 combat aircraft, and more than 20,000 military personnel.

Androsov related that the Russians had "exchanged smiles" with American pilots who tracked them: "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. Yesterday [Wednesday] we revived this tradition, and two of our young crews paid a visit to the area of the base of Guam." U.S. Pacific Command denied that visual contact occurred, maintaining that the bombers flew no closer than 100 miles from U.S. aircraft. Pentagon spokesman Navy Lt. Cmdr. Chito Peppler stated that, "We were prepared to intercept the planes, but they never came close enough to a U.S. ship or to the island of Guam to warrant an air-to-air intercept."

During the 1990s, budget cutbacks forced Russia to curtail the Soviet practice of conducting regular combat patrols. According to the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD), however, the Russian military in recent months has undertaken more patrols in areas closer to Russian territory -- in the oceans near Norway and Britain as well as over the Bering Strait separating Russia from Alaska. In July, Royal Air Force F-3 Tornado fighters had to intercept two Tu-95 bombers who flew close to Scotland after deviating from their standard routes along Norway's coast.

Assessing the recent increase in Russian bomber flights, U.S. Air Force Gen. Gene Renuart, commander of NORAD and U.S. Northern Command, argued that "it's not provocative in any way. They follow the international rules. They've been very professional in how they've flown the flights, so I don't see anything reckless in it." Gen. Renuart added that the Russian military typically provides advance warning of their training exercises to U.S. commanders.

Nevertheless, the purpose of these flights is not to attack European or Asian targets, which the bombers can easily target with their long-range ALCMs while flying in Russian air space, where they can be better protected. Rather, it is to train the crews to launch their long-range cruise missiles from positions where they can reach the continental United States. Lt. Gen. Igor Khvorov, the Russian Air Force chief of staff, characterized the Guam flight as "business as usual."

Although the Russian government has committed to buying sufficient fuel and providing adequate maintenance to resume regular patrols by the country's strategic aviation fleet, it has yet to make the much costlier decision to purchase the next-generation weapons platforms the Russian Air Force need to match the latest American defense technologies.

In his annual address to the Russian Federal Assembly last year, Putin indicated that "over the next five years we will have to significantly increase the number of modern long range aircraft, submarines and launch systems in our strategic nuclear forces." But the Russian government has not yet committed to purchase a next-generation strategic bomber or a longer-range air-launched cruise missile that would allow Russian pilots to more effectively attack U.S. targets.

Richard Weitz is a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute and a WPR contributing editor.

Photo: A Russian Tu-160 Blackjack strategic bomber.

http://www.worldpoliticsreview.com/article.aspx?id=1048

[ABLAT Staff]

Russian Bombers Not Carrying Nukes, General Says


A Russian air force general said today that strategic bombers flying routine long-range missions for the first time since end of the Cold War are not equipped with nuclear weapons, ITAR-Tass reported (see GSN, Aug. 20).

“All such planes are provided with training missiles,” said Maj. Gen. Anatoly Zhikharev, deputy commander of long-range aviation for the Russian air force.

“Continuous alert missions were resumed on Aug. 17 on decision of the supreme commander in chief and president of the Russian Federation after an interval, which had lasted from 1992,” he said. “They are being flown in difficult conditions, including prereconnaissance, refueling in the air, and opposition to fighters of NATO and other countries.”

“We have continued the Soviet times tradition and are flying missions in the northeastern part of the Atlantic Ocean, over the Norwegian, Northern and Japanese seas, and also beyond the North Pole and over the Aleutian Islands,” Zhikharev said.

He said that “Russian pilots are not intruding into foreign airspace.”

“There is nothing aggressive in respect to other countries,” he said, adding that pilots must fly regular missions to remain in practice. “Two crew rotations a week are needed to keep the pilots trained and this is a normal regime for the air force” (ITAR-Tass, Aug. 21).

http://www.nti.org/d_newswire/issues/2007_8_21.html#E1D2730B

[ABLAT Staff]

RAF Eurofighters intercept Russian bomber
By Richard Holt
Last Updated: 8:06pm BST 21/08/2007

RAF fighter jets were sent to intercept a Russian bomber which was heading towards British air space over the North Atlantic, it emerged this evening.

An RAF Typhoon Eurofighter intercepts the Russian Bear-H bomber
Eurofighter intercepts the bomber

Two Typhoons were sent from RAF Coningsby in Lincolnshire to meet the Bear-H aircraft after the early warning radar system detected it heading towards UK territory, according to the Ministry of Defence.

It is the first time the Typhoon Eurofighters have been scrambled since they took on operational duties on June 29.

No more details have been released about the incident, which took place last week, but it is bound to heighten tensions after a number of assertive acts by Moscow.

President Vladimir Putin announced this week that Russia has resumed long-range patrols by its bomber planes for the first time since the end of the Cold War.

Relations with both Europe and the United States have been deteriorating as Russia, buoyed by booming energy prices, has shaken off the post-Soviet malaise of the 1990s.

Western criticism has mounted as Mr Putin curtailed freedoms in Russia and imposed economic punishments on ex-Soviet neighbours who had pursued a pro-Western course.

In June The Kremlin was angered by US plans to move missile systems into eastern Europe.

Mr Putin threatened to aim Russian nuclear missiles at European cities in retaliation.

While Washington insists that the missiles are directed at the growing threat of Iran and North Korea, the Kremlin is convinced they are directed at Russia.

Earlier this month Sergei Ivanov, the hawkish Russian defence minister seen as a possible successor to Mr Putin when he stands down next year, announced an eight-year £100 billion military upgrade.

Defence spending has quadrupled since Mr Putin came to power in May 2000.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml.../21/nraf121.xml

[ABLAT Staff]

Russian bombers launch missiles over Arctic
By Richard Holt
Last Updated: 2:03am BST 04/09/2007

Twelve Russian strategic bombers are taking part in military exercises above the Arctic involving the launching of tactical cruise missiles.

The Russian air force spokesman did not specify the exact location of the exercises but confirmed that the TU-95MC bombers would take off from five air bases stretching from the Volga River city of Engels to Anadyr on the Chukotka Peninsula overlooking the United States.

RAF jet shadows a Russian bomber heading towards British airspace

Russian bomber being shadowed by a RAF jet last month- http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml.../warctic103.xml

"The planes will also practise mid-air refuelling from Il-78 transport planes," he said.

President Vladimir Putin announced last month that Russia has resumed long-range patrols by its bomber planes for the first time since the end of the Cold War.

Mr Putin said the resumption of patrols was needed to guarantee national security.

In August RAF fighter jets were sent to intercepts a Russian bomber which was heading towards British air space over the North Atlantic.

The Arctic exercises follow a widely advertised scientific expedition to the North Pole last month with the task of finding justification for Russia's claims for a bigger slice of the Arctic zone, believed to have rich mineral resources.

Relations with both Europe and the United States have been deteriorating as Russia, buoyed by booming energy prices, has shaken off the post-Soviet malaise of the 1990s.

Western criticism has mounted as Mr Putin curtailed freedoms in Russia and imposed economic punishments on ex-Soviet neighbours who had pursued a pro-Western course.

In June The Kremlin was angered by US plans to move missile systems into eastern Europe.

Mr Putin threatened to aim Russian nuclear missiles at European cities in retaliation.

While Washington insists that the missiles are directed at the growing threat of Iran and North Korea, the Kremlin is convinced they are directed at Russia.

Earlier this month Sergei Ivanov, the hawkish Russian defence minister seen as a possible successor to Mr Putin when he stands down next year, announced an eight-year £100 billion military upgrade.

Defence spending has quadrupled since Mr Putin came to power in May 2000.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml.../warctic103.xml

[ABLAT Staff]

Officials: Norwegian Fighters Scramble to Monitor Russian Bombers
Thursday, September 06, 2007
Associated Press



OSLO, Norway — Norwegian F-16 fighters scrambled twice Thursday to monitor a flight of eight Russia bombers that neared the Nordic country's territory in the latest show of air power by the Kremlin, defense officials said.

The British Ministry of Defense separately confirmed that British jets were also involved, but did not give immediate details.

Lt. Col. John Inge Oeglaend, of the Norwegian Joint Headquarters, said the bombers, all Tu-95s, neared but did not enter Norwegian airspace in the far north.

"They followed a normal route in international airspace," he said by telephone from the western Norway port of Stavanger. He said they flew near Norway's northern tip over the Barents Sea, then over the North Atlantic and back.

Oeglaend said two Norwegian fighters were sent up both times that the Russian aircraft approached Norway, in keeping with normal practice.

Norway, a member of the NATO alliance, and Russia shared land and ocean borders in the Arctic, including the vast Barents Sea.

According to Oeglaend, this is the third time Norwegian fighters have scrambled since mid-July to monitor a rising number of Russia military air exercises.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,295907,00.html

[ABLAT Staff]

British jets intercept Russian bombers
Sep 14 07:14 AM US/Eastern

Norwegian and British fighter jets were scrambled to intercept Russian bombers over the north Atlantic, the latest in a series of such incidents, Norway's military command said Friday.

Two Russian Tupolev-160 bombers or "Blackjacks" were detected by the NATO allies flying along the Norwegian coast before passing by northern Scotland, a military spokesman told AFP.

"We dispatched two F-16s from Bodoe airbase (in the north of Norway) to identify them," Lieutenant-Colonel Jon Inge Oegland said, adding that Britain had also sent aircraft.

"It conforms with the declarations of (Russian) president (Vladmir) Putin and we are expecting more such flights in the future.

"It was nothing dramatic but we are of course keeping a close eye on things," Oegland said.

Putin announced the resumption of long-range flights in international air space while he attended military exercises on August 17.

Even in the weeks before his statement, Britain and Norway had to scramble jets to intercept Russian planes near their airspace. Russian bombers had also been making increasingly frequent flights near US territory.

Such flights were standard during the Cold War standoff with the United States and its western European allies, but were abandoned in 1992 amid financial difficulties that followed the Soviet collapse.

Russia's head of strategic aviation General Pavel Androsov has said the aircraft will not carry nuclear weapons and that the main aim of the flights was to improve training for pilots.

But the flights come against a background of increasing tension between Russia and some Western powers. Observers also see it as a sign of renewed Russian self-confidence on the international stage.

Russia has objected strongly to US plans to place anti-missile defence facilities in the Czech Republic and Poland, countries that were ruled from Moscow during the Cold War but are now members of NATO.

Earlier this month, Russian and Chinese special forces held a joint counter-terrorism exercise dubbed "Friendship 2007" in Moscow, underlining the two neighbours' growing security ties.

http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=07...;show_article=1

[ABLAT Staff]

NATO jets intercept Russian warplanes
By RAPHAEL G. SATTER, Associated Press Writer Fri Sep 14, 2:06 PM ET

LONDON - British and Norwegian jets intercepted Russian military aircraft on Friday after they breached NATO airspace near the U.K. and Finland, defense officials said.

Finland's prime minister demanded an explanation from Moscow. Interception of Russian warplanes in NATO patrolled-airspace has become increasingly common since the Kremlin ordered strategic bombers to carry out long-range missions for the first time since the breakup of the Soviet Union.

Russia said it had set up a commission to investigate the Finnish claims, but an official insisted the aircraft had flown over neutral territory.

British fighter jets intercepted two Russian long-range bombers flying in NATO airspace and shadowed them until they charged course, Britain's defense ministry said, without revealing precisely where the incursion took place. The two Tu-160 "Blackjack" bombers were initially intercepted by Norwegian F16s, defense officials said.

In Finland, authorities said an Ilyushin-76 transporter plane flew about three miles into Finnish airspace for three minutes.

"These kinds of (violations) must not happen," Finnish Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen said. "And when they do happen, then they need to be sorted out between the countries in question."

Alexander Drobyshevsky, a Russian air force official, said his government was investigating Finland's claims.

"The air force command has put together a commission to examine objective flight data for this plane and to check how the flight had been prepared and how it was conducted," Drobyshevsky told the Interfax news agency.

But the ITAR-Tass news agency quoted Drobyshevsky as saying Russian planes had "flown over neutral waters without approaching air borders of any foreign nation."

International airspace along the southern Finnish coast is narrow, and officials expected violations, military officials in Finland said.

"There's a lot of Russian airborne activity above the Gulf of Finland, especially between Kaliningrad and the Russian mainland," military spokesman Marko Luotonen said. Russian planes, mostly military transporters, frequently fly between the Baltic port enclave of Kaliningrad and bases near the city St. Petersburg.

Last month, Russian bombers approached the Pacific Island of Guam — home to a major U.S. military base — for the first time since the Cold War. In July, Norwegian F-16s were also scrambled when Tu-95s headed south along the Norwegian coast in international air space.

"The re-emergence of long-range flights from Russia is something the Russians are entitled to do, all countries have the right to maintain or upgrade and exercise their defense capabilities," Britain's military said in a statement. "The motivation behind any Russian military activity is a matter for the Russian government."

Last year, Russia apologized for violations of Finnish airspace, following about a dozen such incidents over a period of two years.

Similar complaints of air violations have been made by Finland's southern neighbors, Estonia and the other Baltic states. In October 2005, a Russian fighter jet crashed in Lithuania.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070914/ap_on_...bMbChU8vGis0NUE

[ABLAT Staff]

NATO jets intercept 3 Russian warplanes
Most serious incident was two bombers intercepted by Norwegians

Updated: 2:48 p.m. ET Sept. 14, 2007

LONDON - Russian military aircraft were intercepted by British and Norwegian jets Friday after they breached NATO airspace close to the U.K. and Finland, defense officials said.

Finland's prime minister demanded an explanation from Moscow. Interception of Russian warplanes in NATO patrolled-airspace has become increasingly common since the Kremlin ordered strategic bombers to carry out long-range missions for the first time since the breakup of the Soviet Union.

British fighter jets intercepted two Russian long-range bombers flying in NATO airspace and shadowed them until they charged course, Britain's defense ministry said, without revealing precisely where the incursion took place. The two Tu-160 "Blackjack" bombers were initially intercepted by Norwegian F16s, defense officials said.

In Finland, authorities said an Ilyushin-76 transporter plane flew about three miles into Finnish airspace for three minutes.

"These kinds of (violations) must not happen," Finnish Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen said. "And when they do happen, then they need to be sorted out between the countries in question."

Flights legal, Russia says
Russian Air Force spokesman Col. Alexander Drobyshevsky said Friday that "all flights of our strategic bombers have been conducted in accordance with international rules."

"Our planes have flown over neutral waters without approaching air borders of any foreign nation," Drobyshevsky said, according to the ITAR-Tass news agency.

International airspace along the southern Finnish coast is narrow, and officials expected violations, military officials in Finland said.

"There's a lot of Russian airborne activity above the Gulf of Finland, especially between Kaliningrad and the Russian mainland," military spokesman Marko Luotonen said. Russian planes, mostly military transporters, frequently fly between the Baltic port enclave of Kaliningrad and bases near the city St. Petersburg.

August, July incidents
Last month, Russian bombers approached the Pacific Island of Guam — home to a major U.S. military base — for the first time since the Cold War. In July, Norwegian F-16s were also scrambled when Tu-95s headed south along the Norwegian coast in international air space.

"The re-emergence of long-range flights from Russia is something the Russians are entitled to do, all countries have the right to maintain or upgrade and exercise their defense capabilities," Britain's military said in a statement. "The motivation behind any Russian military activity is a matter for the Russian government."

Last year, Russia apologized for violations of Finnish airspace, following about a dozen such incidents over a period of two years.

Similar complaints of air violations have been made by Finland's southern neighbors, Estonia and the other Baltic states. In October 2005, a Russian fighter jet crashed in Lithuania.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20776257/

[ABLAT Staff]

Putin to West: Drop 'Silly Atlantic Solidarity,' Cold War Attitudes
Saturday , September 15, 2007
FC2

President Putin called on the West yesterday to drop its “silly Atlantic solidarity” if it wanted improved relations with Russia.

He accused America and some of the countries of the EU of harbouring outdated Cold War attitudes that led to distrust, particularly on issues such as energy security and trade. Such stereotypical positions were “absolutely inappropriate” in the economic arena, he said, insisting that one source of friction – Russia’s decision to build a pipeline bypassing Poland – was not infringing anybody’s rights.

Click here for the full story from the Times of London- http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/worl...icle2436902.ece .

He also warned the West to stop giving Russia blanket lectures on democracy. “We will participate in any debate with our partners, but, if they want us to do something, they must be specific. If they want us to resolve Kosovo, let’s talk Kosovo. If they are worried about nuclear programmes in Iran, let’s talk about Iran, rather than talking about democracy in Russia.”

Neither would he take lectures over Russia imposing higher gas charges on Ukraine after years of Western preaching about the need for market prices. “If the West wants to support the Orange movement, let them pay for it. Do you think we are idiots?”

At the same time, he sounded a more conciliatory note, sayinmg: “We in Russia and you in Europe and the United States should be more patient. We should not be faultfinding in our relations and we should look for positive things. We should engage in friendly relations and support each other.”

He made his comments in a long and forthright session with Western reporters at his holiday residence overlooking the Black Sea in Sochi and gave the first inkling of his thinking about his successor and what role he saw for himself after he leaves office in March next year. “I have no interest in a weak president after me,” he said. His successor had to be “a self-sustainable and efficient individual who will serve the people”.

http://www.foxnews.com/printer_friendly_st...,296898,00.html

[ABLAT Staff]

Cold War shivers re-emerge with Russian flights
Moscow bomber carried cruise missile when it flew off Norway's coast in August
--Aftenposten, Norway

Cold War shivers re-emerge
Norway's military has felt it necessary to dispatch fighter jets 29 times so far this year, to monitor Russian military flights offshore. Now it's emerged that at least one of the Russian aircraft was equipped with a cruise missile.

Newspaper Aftenposten carried a photo of the Russian Tupolev 22 bomber on its front page on Thursday. The photo was taken by a Norwegian fighter jet crew sent out to monitor the flights of two such aircraft about seven weeks ago.

Military officials say the two Russian flights were in "classic position" to fire cruise missiles off Bodø, but both turned away before reaching Norwegian territory, 12 nautical miles from land.

The maneuvers were said to be "unusual," and part of a series of Russian flights in recent months that many are beginning to view as "sabre-rattling" on the part of Russian officials keen to assert their authority in the area.

Norwegian military officials are quick to note that the missile incident wasn't considered a direct provocation. Tor Sandlie, chief of NATO's air operations in northern Norway, told Aftenposten that "we look at this as normal training activity."

On the agenda
The heightened Russian activity is being closely watched, however, and was a topic of talks this week among the foreign ministers of Norway, Sweden and Finland in the northern city of Bodø. There, they received a briefing from military brass inside a NATO facility.

While 29 Russian military flights have been photographed, an equal number haven't been. The Russian activity over the Barents, Norwegian and North Seas has extended as far south as Great Britain, and it's increasing, but remains nowhere near the scale of activity during the Cold War.

Foreign Ministers Ilkka Kanerva of Finland, Carl Bildt of Sweden and Jonas Gahr Støre of Norway agreed that the activity doesn't appear aimed at the Nordic countries and that it can be considered part of legitimate training operations. Local politicians hope residents of northern Norway won't be frightened by the flights, and instead view them merely as Russian officials' desire to demonstrate that they once again have military muscle.

The ministers, meanwhile, expressed solidarity and cooperation on security issues in the north, with Kanerva of Finland noting that among the three countries, "there aren't any foreign or security policy questions that can't be discussed."

http://www.aftenposten.no/english/local/article2042413.ece

[ABLAT Staff]

Russian strategic bombers to conduct exercises Oct. 16-30

MOSCOW, October 15 (RIA Novosti) - Russian strategic bombers will conduct October 16-30 a series of long-range training flights, with simulated bomber raids and missile launches, an Air Force spokesman said on Monday.

"Russian strategic bombers Tu-160, Tu-95 and Tu-22M3, and Il-78 aerial tankers will conduct flights over the Arctic region, the Atlantic and the Pacific oceans, and the Black Sea, with simulated bombing raids and firing of cruise missiles at testing grounds in northern and southern Russia," Colonel Alexander Drobyshevsky said.

Colonel General Alexander Zelin, the commander of the Russian Air Force, will supervise the exercises.

Moscow announced in mid-August that regular patrol flights by strategic bombers had been resumed, and would continue on a permanent basis, with patrol areas including commercial shipping and economic production zones.

The U.S. administration expressed concern about the resumption of patrol flights by Russian strategic bombers.

"I think the rapid growth in Russian military spending definitely bears watching," U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said in an interview with ABC News on October 14.

"And frankly, some of the efforts - for instance, Bear flights in areas that we haven't seen for a while - are really not helpful to security."

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