Russia’s newest multirole fighter jets have been using NATO ships in the Black Sea to practice attack scenarios.
Russian Su-30s and Su-24s aircraft from Russia’s Black Sea Fleet based in Crimea have been conducting attack runs on NATO warships operating in the Black Sea, Sputnik News reported.
According to the Russian media outlet, the jets, launched from Novofedorvka, an airbase captured on Mar. 22, 2014, in western Crimea peninsula 70 kilometres north of Sevastopol, have been monitoring the movements of two ships, the American USS Vicksburg (a Ticonderoga class guided missile cruiser), and Turkey’s frigate The Turgut Reis.
On Mar. 3, a formation made of three Su-30s and four Su-24s overflew the NATO ships “to practice penetrating anti-air systems,” as affirmed by a source at the Sevastopol naval base who spoke to the Russian state agency.
Interestingly, the Russians believe these missions are used for training purposes by both sides: “These ships’ crews are doubtlessly conducting exercises in repelling air attacks from our planes, which gives our pilots the opportunity to gain experience in maneuvering and conducting aerial reconnaissance both in the range of anti-air systems and outside their range.”
Close encounters between Russian planes and NATO ships around the globe happen quite frequently (do you of Tu-95 Bear flew quite close to USS Nimitz in the Pacific?); they have just become a bit more frequent in the Black Sea since last year’s Russian annexation of Crimea: following the invasion of the peninsula, Moscow has moved combat planes to the local airbases and some of them pay visit to the NATO frigates in the vicinity every now and then.
In April 2014, a Su-24 Fencer flew multiple passes at 500 feet above sea level, within 1,000 yards of the USS Donald Cook, the U.S. Navy destroyer operating in the Black Sea at that time: a behaviour that the ship commander considered “provocative and inconsistent with international agreements.”
Anyway, according to a source at the Russia’s Chief Naval Staff quoted by TASS, the two NATO warships will be joined in the next few hours by the Italian frigate Aliseo and Canada’s frigate The Fregerickton which are passing through the Black Sea straits.
More close encounters ahead?
H/T to Lasse Holmstrom and @SajeevJino for the heads-up
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or even a Canadian sub in an exercise.
So they’re telling you that Russia didn’t invade and annex a pretty good sized chunk of Ukraine last year? FSB propaganda machine works pretty good apparently.
CNN reported they were drones in use by US forces in Bulgaria from the serial numbers, when they were brought down it was headlines in CNN for a day. Even the USA is now experimenting with transmitters to take down drones flying over DC using Marconie (spark-gap) generators on trucks.
I’m not calling bullshit, but I would like more information. Russia says they shot down two recon/attack drones (probably a “M” variant Predator or a Reaper). The US categorically denies it (yes I’m aware that doesn’t mean much). Still, there’s no proof. No photos, no serial numbers…nothing. Just Russia’s word (which usually outpaces FOX news when it comes to propaganda).
If you have solid proof, or some of the info I referred to above, I’d love to see it.
Reminds me of the USS Donald Cook vs SU-24 story. Even military minded Russians think it’s bullshit….
http://militaryrussia.ru//forum/viewtopic.php?f=1080&t=2729&sid=8dfe419f06b16291f5e5f28bcf6fb38f
Sure, literally everyone on the planet that disagrees with the Kremlin is a “US puppet”. The more you tell yourself that the truer it becomes, right shill?
I know it. I’m burned out by dealing with Russian old-world thoughts and stances too!