Following yet more tense intercepts involving Russian and US jets which reportedly occurred over the Black and Baltic Seas on Monday, Russia’s Ministry of Defense (MoD) has released new video showing one of these latest incidents.
International media reports cited that at least two encounters between US and Russian planes took place early this week, with one of them possibly over or at least near Crimea.
“The crews of Russian Su-27 fighter jets… have intercepted US Air Force B-52H strategic bombers, that approached Russian state border from the Black and Baltic seas,” the MoD said in a statement.
#Видео Стратегические бомбардировщики #В52Н #ВВССША были замечены накануне у государственной границы РФ в районе Черного и Балтийского морей. Для перехвата самолетов в воздух поднимались российские истребители #Су27 из состава дежурных сил по #ПВО https://t.co/9V4LcH4fmk @MID_RF pic.twitter.com/K1Dtk3Anjo
— Минобороны России (@mod_russia) June 18, 2019
The US Air Force also confirmed the incident, saying that multiple nuclear capable B-52 long-range bombers had conducted missions in support of the annual NATO-led Baltic Operations (BALTOPS) hosted out of Romania.
The newly released footage is from the cockpit of one of the Su-27 jets sent to intercept a B-52 flying from the West.
The MoD further said that no violations of Russia’s borders took place; however, one report based on US military sources and radar said that one US B-52 made a flight path “straight at Crimea” in what “could have been a mock strike run”.
Russia says that it sent Su-27 Flankers to intercept multiple U.S. Air Force B-52 Stratofortresses flying over both the Baltic Sea and Black Sea regions today. In one of the encounters, one of the bombers was flying directly toward the Crimean Peninsula, which the Kremlin occupies, in what could have been a mock strike run. Another one of the B-52s subsequently made an emergency landing at RAF Mildenhall in the United Kingdom following an unrelated in-flight emergency. — The Drive
Another previously recorded Russian intercept of a US bomber from March of this year.
There’s been a dramatic uptick in such incidents of the past few years, with Pentagon officials routinely condemning the Russian pilots’ “unprofessional behavior”.
Meanwhile Moscow has repeatedly condemned expansion and the extent of NATO military games in Baltic and East European states.
The MoD has in multiple incidents over the past months warned against US and NATO planes coming “dangerously close to the border” – which has made it necessary to intercept the aircraft.
via ZeroHedge News http://bit.ly/2IOkOac Tyler Durden