Posted on 09/21/2007 4:35:48 PM PDT by Kurt_Hectic
Two interceptors were scrambled to identify air traffic in international airspace north of Finnmark, Norway, late friday evening.
The two fighter jets from Bodø Air Base took off just before 20:00 local norwegian time, after they were alerted by NATO's Air Operation Centre CAOC 3 on Reitan, Norway.
This according to Lt. Col. John Espen Lien at Landsdelskommando Nord-Norge (Land Command North Norway).
He states that it was probably russian planes.
- It is most likely, because the planes stayed in and outside russian air space, he says.
The planes turned around and disapeared before the norwegian jets made a visual identification, and did not violate norwegian air space.
- Russian violations of norwegian air space is a rare occurence, Lien says.
Fighters from Bodø Air Base have been on the wings several times lately, because of Russian bombers closing in on the norwegian borders. Yesterday two F-16s from Bodø were scrambled to observe russian bombers close to norwegian territory.
According to Lien the number of identifications of unknown airplanes had reached 50 in mid-August.
As a comparison, it was only made out identifications of 3 planes on two ocations in 1998. 10 years earlier the number of i.d. missions were up to 88, while the number of identified planes was 225.
- We have noted a significant increase in russian areal activity, he says.
(Translated by Kurt_Hectic)
Link to yesterday's scramble:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1899688/posts
Norwegians are allowed to make CO2 to protect their country? Who knew?
No only that, they apparently have tough military pilots who fly F-16s, and are ready for trouble.
Our old friends sure have been busy.
Testing our defenses, ay?
Also, it appears they are not just just there to take names. From the looks of it, they are also quite capable of kicking some ass.
Oh, and I meant to thank you for taking the time to translate it for us.
As far as we know. I thought the Russians had stealth technology. They could be testing that also.
Sounds like the Russians are getting froggy.
Post or FReepmail me if you wish to be enlisted in or discharged from the Navair Pinglist.
This is a medium volume pinglist.
No prob! With the russian claims on the arctic,etc, it’s important to keep an eye on them. Seems they are beefing up their airforce activity to cold-war level..
It looks mostly to be a handful of Bears (propellars) on training missions, together with the occational Blackjack..
He states that it was probably russian planes.
no sh*t.
Wonder it it’s possible to buy a Bear for posterity.
The Udvar-Hazy annex to the National Air & Space Museum is only about a third full.
Dunno how Pooty is keeping the old birds flying. They are of the same vintage as the B-52. They were turboprops because the soviets couldn’t make or steal a decent jet engine big enough for the job.
It wasn’t until the rollout of the Blackjack that they actually had a decent strategic bomber (just in time for the collapse of the empire).
Nuke the Kremlin Now!
I gather there still is no real proof that they even went as far as to actually place flags on the arctic ocean seabed.
It was the Norwegian teenager who pointed out that the underwater submarine footage was lifted from James Cameron’s “Titanic.”
Laying claim to a piece of the arctic seabed is as much Gilbert & Sullivan farce as the original race to that arbitrary spot on the frozen ocean that the Greenland Inuit came to refer to as “The Big Nail.”
LOL!
(Well I guess somebody had to say it!)
We were there first. I think we should claim the Moon and demand that any Russians/others visiting get visas first.
I think anyone going to the Moon nowadays has to file an environmental impact statement.
Can’t go disturbing the Moon’s delicate ecosystem, and all that.
The ones flying now are quite a bit younger. Tupolev restarted the Bear line in '81 building H models. The last B-52 rolled off the line in '62.
They were turboprops because the soviets couldnt make or steal a decent jet engine big enough for the job.
Not entirely correct. Turboprops do have some advantages over tubojets.
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