# South Korean fighter jets fire warning shots at Russian spy plane



## Colin Parkinson (23 Jul 2019)

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7275605/South-Korean-fighter-jets-fired-warning-shots-Russian-aircraft-violated-airspace.html

South Korea claims its fighter planes fired hundreds of warning shots at Russian aircraft today after it violated its airspace in an unprecedented incident.

Seoul said F-15 and F-16 fighters were scrambled in the early hours to intercept a Russian A-50 spy plane that violated its territorial airspace.

It came after two Russian TU-95 bombers and two Chinese H-6 bombers flew over a set of islands in the Sea of Japan over which South Korea claims sovereignty.

The fighters fired 360 warning shots at the Russian spy aircraft after they tried to contact the pilot 30 times but received no response, Seoul claimed.

Russia angrily denied the reports - saying that it had not violated South Korean airspace, that Seoul's jets had fired flares and not bullets, and that no attempt to contact its pilots was made.


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## MarkOttawa (23 Jul 2019)

More, note joint patrol:



> China, Russia Conduct First Ever Joint Strategic Bomber Patrol Flights in Indo-Pacific Region
> _Japan scrambled fighter jets to escort the bombers, while South Korean aircraft fired warning shots against a Russian plane that reportedly violated the country’s airspace._
> 
> For the first time, the Chinese People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) and the Russian Air Force jointly conducted a long-range aerial patrol in the Indo-Pacific region on July 23 to “strengthen global strategic stability,” according to the Russian Ministry of Defense (MoD).
> ...



Mark
Ottawa


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## dimsum (23 Jul 2019)

While "360 machine gun rounds" seems like a lot, the M61 Vulcan cannon fitted to the SK fighters has either a 6000 o 6200 round/min firing rate.  360 rounds means a 3.6-second pull at most (for a 6000rd/min rate).  

I'm not sure how flares work on fighters but I don't think you can just eject one either - likely in a salvo so maybe that's a few (or maybe even just one) salvoes.


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## GR66 (23 Jul 2019)

Brilliant move by the Russians/Chinese.  The islands are disputed so they can claim they are doing nothing different than the US does around the disputed South China Seas islands held by China.  The extra bonus for them is that they add more fuel to the political fire between Japan and South Korea who both claim the islands.

China and Russia look militarily strong while driving a wedge between two countries who could otherwise be allies against them.


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