Posted on 05/18/2013 7:52:52 AM PDT by IbJensen
On May 6, Russia received its first shipment of Sukhoi Su-34 twin-seat fighter-bombers (known by NATO as "Fullback"). The Su-34 is the newest generation of fighter-bombers intended to replace the outdated Soviet-era Sukhoi Su-24s.
While the modernization of the Russian Air Force may — and rightfully so — raise a few eyebrows of concern, this alone is not sufficient cause for alarm. Russia’s recent air force maneuvers are, however.
On the night of March 29, 2013, two Russian Tupolev Tu-22M3 bombers (known by NATO as "Backfires"), escorted by four Russian Sukhoi Su-27 fighters (known by NATO as "Flankers") passed extremely close to Swedish airspace and simulated an aerial "attack" on Stockholm and southern Sweden. The Tu-22M3 is a new supersonic long-range bomber capable of delivering nuclear weapons to overseas targets.
The six Russian aircraft flew dangerously close to Swedish airspace, roughly 20 miles from Sweden’s territorial borders, according to Business Insider.
While Russian military aircraft flying over the Baltic has become routine since Russian President Vladimir Putin restored the old Soviet-era long-range strategic flights in 2011, what makes this particular flight so concerning was Sweden’s lack of readiness. The Swedish Air Force was caught off guard and failed to respond.
The flights occurred on Good Friday at around 2 a.m. local time. Business Insider reported that “at least two JAS-39 Gripen should always be in a QRA (Quick Reaction Alert) and ready for take off in case of alarm, but quite surprisingly there were no interceptors ready on Good Friday night.”
Instead of Swedish fighters, two Danish F-16 fighter jets under NATO command intercepted and escorted the Russian planes safely away from Sweden’s borders.
While Sweden may be grateful to Denmark’s Royal Danish Air Force, this raises serious concerns over Sweden's ability to repel and/or deter aggression against its national borders. This incident also raises concerns over the increased belligerence on the part of Russia.
Massive military reductions to the Swedish Armed Forces may account for the air force’s lack of readiness. During the 1980s, the Swedish Air Force was comprised of 20 squadrons and over 400 planes. Today, it posseses no more than four squadrons and less than 150 planes. Meanwhile Russia increased its military spending 16 percent in 2012, primarily on new weapons systems and the modernization of outdated military hardware.
A month later, on the night of April 28, two Russian Tupolev Tu-95 (known by NATO as "Bear-H"; shown, above) long-range heavy nuclear bombers “were detected flying into the military’s Alaska Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) near the Aleutians, where a strategic missile defense radar is located,” according to the Washington Free Beacon.
Again, the Russian bombers did not penetrate Alaskan or U.S. airspace, but they did fly dangerously close to it, prompting two U.S. F-22 fighter jets to scramble from Elmendorf Air Force Base. Bill Gertz of the Washington Free Beacon writes, “The dispatch of F-22s is an indication the bomber flights posed a potential threat to U.S. territory. It was the fifth incident of Russian strategic bombers flying against the United States since June, when Bear bombers were intercepted near Alaska during a large-scale Russian strategic nuclear exercise that Russian military officials said involved practice strikes against U.S. missile defense sites in Alaska.”
On February 12, two of the same class of Russian Tu-95 Bear-H strategic bombers flew over and encircled Guam. This also prompted a quick U.S. deployment of F-15s to intercept and escort the Russian bombers away from U.S. airspace.
Although Putin announced to the world that Russia would conduct such flights in 2011, two Russian Tu-95 bombers made a round-trip surprise “visit” to Guam in 2007 for the first time since the alleged end of the Cold War.
“Who told you that the Cold War was ever over? It transforms; it is like a virus,” said Russian KGB/FSB defector Sergei Tretyakov in an interview with FOX News in 2009.
In 2007, Russian President Vladimir Putin reiterated the continuation of the Cold War by threatening the West with a “new spiral in the arms race.” In Putin’s KGB eyes the Cold War never ended; it is ongoing. Meanwhile, the West applauds Putin as a close ally on the War on Terror. With allies like Putin are enemies really necessary?
The billionaires are all in line with the idea. To them governments are viewed as company managers: People who are told what to do and if they don’t perform then we replace them.
LOL - loved this comment... it's soooooo true. You've made interesting points - need to think about some of them and will get back to you soon...
Just imagine Battle of the Bulge, just with T-34s and IS-2s in their thousands attacking....
Did what? Stole money? There’s a documentary on netflix that shows Putin was in charge of a scheme to sell metals in order to fund the food program in St. Petersburg. Some 900+ million dollars went missing. He was never charged with a crime.
>>That said, my question is, ‘why hasn’t there been a major attack’?
Radical Muslim groups do terror on the cheap - and our borders are almost nonexistent ... so, why haven’t we been hit?<<
I see it from a different angle than spetznaz does.
America is a much different country than the majority of others. There a whole bunch of self reliant men and women in this country who are armed with not only firearms but they have tools that could be used to defend our America. It wouldn’t take too much for them to decide that if the law enforcement types can’t protect our families then we will have to do it ourselves.
That’s when we would get to see the self resilience in action. A Cessna 206 could easily be used as a bomber to attack Moslem neighborhoods in our cities, prayer meetings, mosques, Moslem owned companies and businesses, CAIR headquarters and local community offices, the UN building. General aviation aircraft in America could comprise the world’s largest air force and Al Qaeda is well aware of that. That’s why they tried to get their own pilots into them.
I don’t think Al Qaeda wants to see us when were are scared for the safety of our families because that when the killing machine would be unleashed.
Our government is designed for a Christian population. Islam is fiercely anti Christian and considers us all to be infidels. We will always have terrorist attacks as long as we allow Koran followers to reside in our country. If they want to teach anti Christian or anti American beliefs in their mosques then I do not consider them to be innocent and/or unarmed people.
If they want to build places to pray for the collapse of America I will continue to consider them enemies of America. The ones who wish to assimilate into our culture are welcome but I don’t invite my enemies to sit at my dinner table.
I’m not one of those Americans unfamiliar with how chummy Stalin was with Hitler. In the Non-Aggression Pact of 1939 Stalin gained control of the Baltic States, which, despite their portraying themselves as victims of Stalin’s terror, were quite the enthusiastic participants in the Holocaust. I’ve silenced many a Russian in Internet discussions when they start with that ‘’20 million dead because of the Hitlerite Fascists’’ bs until I point out to them how content Old Joe was to stroll down the garden path with Old Adolph. I have known quite a number of Poles to whom Sept. 1st. is their September 11th. and they are always impressed and grateful to find an American who understands this history, and more so when I mention the word ‘’ Katyn’’ You know I’m sure what that is. Poles hate Russians. But as to turning on the Soviet Union in 1945, no my friend, that would have been suicide. You haven’t seemed to consider what I said in the impending invasion of Japan, as necessary as that appeared at the time, the predicted causalities would have been enormous. And how would you have explained to the American people , after having been told the Russians were our friends and having fought along side Russia as an ally , they are now suddenly an enemy? The Russians were not a beaten army in 1945, not at all. Slavic peoples, as I have seen over the years love you like a brother when you’re on their side. Betray them, and you will have an enemy like no other. It will be a hatred that will last for generations. besides, even if America had over whelmed the Russians, we would be occupying them to this day and the bloodshed will have never ended. Americans wanted an end to the war in 1945, not a continuation of it.
As many will also recognize September 17th as their September 11th.
No Muslim is trustworthy. There is no such thing as a ‘’moderate Muslim’’. If indeed the bloody religion were ‘’peaceful’’, why the need for ‘’moderation’’? To me that makes the argument Islam is not peaceful. Ask any ‘’moderate Muslim’’ if the State of Israel and the Jewish people have the right to exist and see the responses you get. If a muslim answers “No’’, they’re being truthful. If they say ‘’yes’’, they’re lying. There were no ‘’moderate Nazis’’ and no ‘’good’’ Nazis’’ either. There is neither to be found in Islam.
The old Polish Joke, “You’ve captured a Nazi and a Russian...which one do you shoot first? The German, of course....’business before pleasure.’”
“That didn’t start without the full approval and backing of every major banker in the USA.”
Sure. Of course. The bankers did it.
Not exactly. The Soviet armor was massed and we had epic numbers of bombers. The fighters would have been defeated by our fighters quickly. The Germans ran out of fuel and parts. We did not.
LOL!!
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Bankers are consulted and loans are processed months before the first bullet flies.
If the banker don’t loan money to the material suppliers, guess what happens? The war ends because of the “Lack of Interest” on Wall Street.
I know that and you know that but not all FReepers know that to be fact.
Gee,I wonder if those bankers are of a certain religion?
Probably in a few short, short years, as Obama unarms America, these will be real attacks. New attacks on Hawaii (hopefully he will be living in that new home there when they come) and in Alaska. They would love to have Alaska back and all those billions of barrels of oil!
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