Russian bombers about to become regular visitors of the Caribbean and the Gulf of Mexico. Not a first though.
After visiting the Arctic and Europe, Russian bombers prepare to perform long-range training sorties over the waters of the Caribbean and the Gulf of Mexico.
According to Russia’s Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu Moscow is in the “need to ensure a military presence in the western Atlantic and eastern Pacific oceans, the waters of the Caribbean basin and the Gulf of Mexico.”
Therefore, along with probing NATO air defenses in northern Europe, Turkey and possibly in the Mediterranean Sea, Russia will increase its presence closer to the Continental U.S.
One year ago, two Russian Tu-160 Blackjack strategic bombers completed a 10,000 miles, 13-hour long-range training flight (supported by two Tu- 95 Bear strategic bombers that provided radio communications relay in remote areas along the route) and landed in Venezuela, at the airport in Maiquetía Caracas, for the first time since 2008.
On their way home the Tu-160s visited Nicaragua but the flight over Central America brought the two Russian bombers to fly inside the Colombian airspace without the required diplomatic clearance.
For this reason they were intercepted by two Colombian Air Force Kfir fighter planes approximately 80 miles from Barranquilla.
Eventually, the Blackjacks returned to the Engels base on Nov. 5 where they landed about 15 hours later after; the return trip included aerial refueling by Il-78 tankers over the Norwegian Sea…
Earlier this year, Russia discussed with its regional partners the possibility to base its assets in Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua.
NATO has recently reported “unusual” spike in Russian military aircraft flying in international airspace in northern Europe.
The increased activity of Russian bombers and spyplanes close to national airspaces caused alert scrambles in the Baltic Sea area and in the Portuguese FIR (Flight Information Region). In one case, an Il-20 almost collided with a civil plane off Sweden.
Image credit: Alan Wilson
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Poor russians….they don’t only need to copy our bomber designs….and everything else we do….but they now need to feel ‘superior’ by endangering thousands of lives by flying across some of the most congested airspace in the western hemisphere unannounced. Why don’t you just accept that -no matter what- you will ALWAYS be number 2 at everything and that you are only further and further alienating your funny little regime by acting like spoiled toddlers.
well.. Russians will always be number 1 for putting man in space, won’t they?) They are poor ..capitalisation less than Apple’s valuation yet still they manage to fly this missions expanding their millitary activity, build new aircrafts, submarines, supersonic vehicles, put satellites in space, etc.. the number on the piece of paper doesn’t necessary represent the true value of something especially when it is located somewhere within Russian borders.. yet true they behave like toddlers ..as you do as well btw, by claiming that someone will ‘ALWAYS be number 2’, quite childish, ..probably means that someone also needs to grow up
Does anyone really know what he was referring to during that conversation? I think it wise to give the President the benefit of doubt here. He could have been snowing Putin for all we know; a sort of, “Yeah, yeah, I’ll look into it for you sometime” kind of thing.
Perhaps having a few targeting radars light them up every time they invade someone’s airspace “accidentally” will discourage this reckless behavior.
Can anyone suggest a reliable source of info that states BOTH Russian & NATO recent ‘exercises’? It seems that in most recent cases Russia is holding air/nuclear exercises in response to similar NATO exercises.