Russian Strategic Bombers Deployed To Iran; Russian Senator Says Nuclear Weapons, Heavy Bombers Will Not Be Permanently Deployed In Syria

 

The Russian Ministry of Defense today, August 16, 2016,[1] announced that Russian Tu-22M3 strategic bombers and Su-34 fighter bombers had taken off from Iran’s Hamadan airbase in order to strike the Islamic State (ISIS) and Jabhat Fath Al-Sham (formerly Jabhat Al-Nusra) in Syria.[2] This is the first time Russia openly acknowledges it has deployed strategic bombers in Iran.[3]

According to Russia 24, the aim of deploying the bombers in Iran is to shorten the flight time to targets by 60%. The Russia Today channel reported, citing Russian diplomatic sources, that Russia has asked Iran and Iraq to allow Kaliber missiles to pass through their airspace. The Russia Today website added that on August 15, 2016 the Russian Defense Ministry announced the launch of tactical exercises in the Caspian Sea, involving warships bearing cruise Kaliber missiles. According to the ministry, the goal of the exercises is to test the Caspian Sea fleet’s ability to respond to sudden crises, including terror-related crises.[4]

RAF jets scrambled to intercept two Russian bombers ‘heading for UK airspace’

RAF Typhoons have been scrambled to intercept two Russian bombers said to be in a “UK area of interest”.

The fighter jets were launched from RAF Coningsby in Lincolnshire this afternoon and the incident is currently ongoing, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) said.

Is Russia flying NUCLEAR missiles over the Channel? Fears over Putin’s jets in UK airspace

Last February, two Tu-95 bombers intercepted over the Channel were found to be carrying a nuclear missile designed to destroy Trident submarines.

Cockpit conservations confirming the bomber’s nuclear payload were intercepted by a Norwegian military listening post and passed to the Ministry of Defence.

World leaders scramble to defuse ‘monstrous’ new crisis over Russia’s downed jet: Putin ratchets the tension by dispatching warship to Mediterranean as Moscow expert warns war is ‘likely’

• Russia warns of ‘serious consequences’ after Nato country downs Russian military jet for first time since 1953
• Two pilots were reportedly shot dead by Syrian rebels as they parachuted from burning Sukhoi Su-24 warplane
• Third Russian said to have died when rescue helicopter was hit with anti-tank missile by another rebel group
• Russia denied plane had been in Turkish airspace but Nato secretary-general says assessment showed it had
• A warship has been deployed to the Mediterranean Sea to destroy potential threats to Russian forces in Syria
• Britain has declared military back-up is on standby to support Turkey in any revenge attack by Putin’s forces

A ‘monstrous’ new crisis has begun after Turkey shot down a Russian military plane, sparking fears of a war.

Vladimir Putin  has accused the Turks of a ‘stab in the back’, branding them ‘accomplices of terrorists’.

Syria: As the West dithers, Putin makes his move

Telegraph View: Sadly, allowing Assad to remain in power may be the least worst option for the world

Nothing better illustrates the utter vacuity that exists at the heart of Government policy-making over the vexed issue of Syria than its inability to respond to the significant challenge posed by President Putin’s military intervention in support of the Syrian regime. As we have seen in Crimea and eastern Ukraine, Mr Putin is not shy about using military force when it suits his geo-political agenda. And with President Bashar al-Assad’s regime reportedly on the brink of collapse, the Russian leader has clearly decided that the deployment of Russian warplanes and armoured vehicles is vital to prevent the Syrian capital falling into the hands of Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil) militants, with all the implications that would have for the region.

How close we came to Armageddon: Russian bombers began to arm NUKE near UK airspace

PILOTS in one of the two Russian supersonic bombers intercepted near UK skies last week had started the countdown to arm a nuclear bomb, sources revealed last night.

The discovery was made after RAF specialists analyzed a four-second signal transmitted from one of the Tupolev Tu-160 bombers, known by Nato as “Blackjacks”, in the days following Thursday’s incursion.

Analysts at RAF Boulmer, Britain’s Control and Reporting Centre, confirmed that the Russian bombers had begun the sequence to arm nuclear weapons while carrying out the incursion.

It is not the first time they have done this and comparison with a similar signal transmitted by a TU-95 “Bear” bomber revealed Russian air crew had begun the countdown during an incursion last year, as well.

Russian bombers flying near Plymouth gathered ‘valuable intelligence’

 

RUSSIAN bombers which were caught flying close to the Cornish coast are likely to have gathered “valuable intelligence”, senior military figures have warned.

The two long-range Russian “Bear” planes – which are capable of carrying nuclear missiles– were intercepted by RAF jets in UK airspace in February.

But they are believed to have gained vital information about UK defences, experts have now warned.

Russia has intelligence on UK nuclear weapons – putting us at risk of ATTACK, say experts

RUSSIA is likely to have gathered “valuable intelligence” on Britain’s nuclear programme which could put us at risk of attack, senior RAF officials have warned.

…

This has given opportunities for “intruders” which could “prejudice the security and effectiveness” of Trident, they said.

In a letter to a newspaper, the officers wrote: “The need to reintroduce Maritime Patrol Aircraft (MPA) into the British frontline is now widely recognised.

Russian jet misses US military plane by just 20 FEET in mid-air clash that risked new WAR

 

A RUSSIAN jet came just feet from crashing into a US military plane – avoiding what could have been a devastating mid-air collision.

The Russian Su-27 fighter jet targeted the US reconnaissance aircraft over the Baltic Sea in April – narrowly missing it by 20ft.

A research group has reportedly recorded dozens of similar encounters between Russian fighter jets and Western planes since the Russian annexation of the Crimea in March 2014.

RAF jets scrambled to intercept Russian bombers

 

A number of RAF jets have been scrambled to intercept two Russian long-range bombers off northern Scotland, the latest in a series of provocative operations by the country’s air force.

As tensions between Nato and Russia have worsened over the Ukraine crisis, Moscow has significantly increased the number of military flights probing Nato airspace. The number of interceptions over the Baltic States trebled last year and Nato members including Britain have stepped up air policing support in the area.

The RAF Typhoons were operating under a Nato command.

RAF fighter jets scrambled to intercept Russian spy plane

The two RAF planes, which are currently policing the Baltic skies, were alerted after the Russian Ilyushin IL-20 Coot surveillance aircraft was spotted.

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) said the incident took place in international airspace over the Gulf of Finland at lunchtime.

‘Falklands invasion guide’ containing GPS coordinates of facilities published on MoD website

The Ministry of Defence failed to encrypt a secret document on its website that describes the exact make-up of runways, ­thickness of concrete and gives GPS coordinates of facilities.

The information was freely available from the homepage and would be priceless to an enemy bomber planning a strike.

World War 3: Russian Nuclear Bombers Buzz British Air Space, RAF Typhoon Jets Scramble To Respond

In yet another incident that may feel like World War 3 but seems to actually be part of Cold War 2, two Russian nuclear bombers steered away from their planned routes to fly dangerously close to British air space, over a region that United Kingdom defense officials called the U.K. “area of interest.”

…

The bombers followed the disturbing pattern of many Russian military aircraft that have confronted fighter jets from NATO, Britain, and even Japan over the past year, in that they did not file a flight plan, appeared to fly with their transponders switched off, and failed to communicate with air traffic controllers in the ground.

But the RAF fighter pilots flew close enough to the Russian bombers that they could communicate with visual hand signals.

Britain had Canadian plane look for suspected Russian sub off Scotland due to defence cuts

Britain called in NATO sea patrol planes to hunt for a suspected Russian submarine off Scotland, after the Government scrapped its own similar aircraft in defence cuts.

Maritime patrol aircraft from France, America and Canada flew to Scotland to join Royal Navy warships hunting for the suspected submarine after it was spotted west of Scotland.

At the height of the hunt, in late November and the first days of this month, four allied patrol planes flew to RAF Lossiemouth to join the search, Aviation Week reported.

It came a month after another suspected Russian submarine was spotted off Sweden’s Stockholm archipelago, and with relations with the Kremlin at their worst since the Cold War.

RAF jets scramble to intercept Russian bombers over North Sea as Nato reports dozens of planes in European airspace

• 26 Russian aircraft ran ‘military manoeuvres’ in 24 hours including two Bear bombers followed by RAF fighters
• Nato steps up its defences as it says two planes near Britain did not file flight plans or contact controllers
• Alliance reported ‘unusual’ activity after intercepting 100 Russian planes in 2014 – triple the number in 2013

Nato has sounded a warning after 26 Russian bombers, tankers and fighter jets on military exercises were intercepted around Europe in just 24 hours.

Jets were scrambled by the RAF and allies in Germany, Portugal and Turkey after the ‘unusual’ spike in activity, which saw two giant Tu-95 Bear H bombers fly close to Britain yesterday.

The alliance said Russia had conducted ‘significant military manoeuvres in European airspace’ – though it then added none of the planes had strayed into any specific country’s territory.

The two Bear bombers had been part of an eight-plane formation which was first intercepted by Norwegian F-16s over at 2am yesterday.