The Russian Military Merged Thread- Air Force

[tomahawk6]

First ever joint exercise. The scenario was a civilian hijacked plane on board the civilian aircraft was the Alaska NORAD deputy commander was a Canadian Colonel,an interpreter and a Russian Air Force Colonel. By looking at the photos I must say the USAF inflight fare looked much better than an MRE.

Vigilant Eagle
Vigilant Eagle is a cooperative exercise involving the North American Aerospace Defense Command and the Russian Air Force. The exercise scenario creates a situation that requires both the Russian Air Force and NORAD to launch or divert fighter aircraft to investigate and follow a "hijacked" airliner. The exercise focuses on shadowing and the cooperative hand-off of the monitored aircraft between fighters of the participating nations.

Fencing 1220, a Gulfstream 4, departs Anchorage, Alaska in route to the Far East simulating a commercial Boeing 757 taken over by terrorists prompting reaction from NORAD and the Russian Federation Air Forces, Aug. 8.

 

Canadian Forces Col. Todd Balfe, deputy commander of the Alaskan NORAD region, looks over paperwork as he flies aboard a civilian airplane playing the role of a hijacked airliner, Sunday, Aug. 8, 2010 on a route from Alaska to an undisclosed location in the Far East. The exercise is a first-of-its-kind joint exercise between the U.S. and Russia to test their coordinated response to a potential international hijacking.

Russian Air Force Col. Alexander Vasiliev, right, talks with Canadian Forces Col. Todd Balfe, center, deputy commander of the Alaskan NORAD region, as U.S. Air Force interpreter Tech. Sgt. Paul Shoop, translates at left, as they fly aboard a civilian airplane playing the role of a hijacked airliner, Sunday, Aug. 8, 2010 on a route from Alaska to an undisclosed location in the Far East. The exercise is a first-of-its-kind joint exercise between the U.S. and Russia to test their coordinated response to a potential international hijacking.

Canadian Forces Col. Todd Balfe, right, deputy commander of the Alaskan NORAD region, talks with Russian Air Force Col. Alexander Vasiliev, center, as U.S. Air Force interpreter Tech. Sgt. Paul Shoop, translates at left, as they fly aboard a civilian airplane playing the role of a hijacked airliner, Sunday, Aug. 8, 2010 on a route from Alaska to an undisclosed location in the Far East. The exercise is a first-of-its-kind joint exercise between the U.S. and Russia to test their coordinated response to a potential international hijacking.

 

[tomahawk6]

Video  ;D

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2GaSnkvPcrc&feature

 

[CougarKing]

Can one of the mods please merge this thread with an older one below?

link edited out.

Thanks to the mods for merging the two threads.

 

[aesop081]

Whats the big deal.......The Russian and Canadian air forces hold joint training a few times each year 

 

[Retired AF Guy]

From FlightGlobal reproduced under the relevant caveats of the Copyright Act:

India, Russia seal PAK FA research deal
By Greg Waldron

India and Russia have signed a long-discussed preliminary design contract for India's fifth-generation fighter aircraft (FGFA), a variant of the Sukhoi PAK FA demonstrator.

The deal was signed during Russian president Dmitry Medvedev's official visit to New Delhi in December.

Hindustan Aeronautics chairman Ashok Nayak has valued the contract at $295 million. During its 18-month term, Indian designers will work with Sukhoi's designers in Russia, building in Indian requirements for the variant.

The deal was originally expected to be signed at the end of 2009, but was held up as the two nations hammered out issues relating to technology transfer and the cost of the programme.

Nayak tentatively suggests the co-developed FGFA's first flight could take place around 2017-18.

Asked whether India is coming to the project relatively late - the PAK FA prototype first flew in January 2010 and has since logged about 40 test missions - Nayak says the FGFA could be "far different from what is flying today". The next PAK FA will also have a more advanced engine, he says.

The current PAK FA is powered by two NPO Saturn "Item 117" engines, developed from the Item 117S design already flown on Sukhoi's Su-35 and a Su-27M testbed. The experimental aircraft's integrated flight control system controls the engines and all other major systems.

Sukhoi says other key design elements include the use of composite materials, advanced aerodynamic techniques and measures to reduce the aircraft's engine signature, which it claims results in an "unprecedented small radar cross-section in radar, optical and infrared range".

The PAK FA is also equipped with an advanced phased-array antenna radar, Sukhoi adds. Russia's Tikhomirov NIIP displayed an active electronically scanned array design for the fighter at 2009's Moscow MAKS air show. [/url]

Article Link

 

[MarkOttawa]

Back to missiles:

Russia Puts New Mobile ICBM on Duty
http://www.aviationweek.com/aw/blogs/defense/index.jsp?plckController=Blog&plckScript=blogScript&plckElementId=blogDest&plckBlogPage=BlogViewPost&plckPostId=Blog%3a27ec4a53-dcc8-42d0-bd3a-01329aef79a7Post%3a9500d788-0d3f-4d40-841b-579db01f448b

On March 4 the first missile regiment equipped with new RS-24 Yars intercontinental ballistic missilse officially entered duty in the 54th missile division in Teikovo, Ivanovo region, according to Russia’s Defense Ministry. The regiment includes two battalions with mobile missile launchers on wheeled chassis.

The first battalion was delivered in Teikovo at the end of 2009. The second battalion was reportedly handed over to the military in December 2010. Last year Yars was tested in Teikovo on trial duty which allowed confirmation of the reliability of the new system, said the Defense Ministry official.

RS-24 ICBM was developed by the Moscow Institute of Thermal Technology using the technologies from the Topol-M (SS-27 Sickle) missile. The first trial launch was made in May 2007 while the testing was reportedly completed at the end of 2009. The military hasn’t revealed the technical parameters of the new solid propellant missile, but reports that it can carry multiple warheads. According to the Defense Ministry, RS-24 will gradually replace ageing RS-18 (SS-19 Stiletto) and RS-20 (SS-18 Satan) silo-based ICBMs that have been in service since the 1970s [remember them, esp. the great threat the US claimed from the SS-18?]. Together with the single warhead Topol-M, Yars will be a core of the Russian Strategic Forces until the middle of the century, said the military.

Mark
Ottawa

 

[vonGarvin]

Take a close look at this picture:

They went from Alaska to an undisclosed location, right?  Look over the Colonel's right shoulder.  I believe you can see the flight track, and where they were (over Kamchakta, I believe). 

 

[Retired AF Guy]

Reproduced under the S29 of the Copyright Act:

It appears that the Russians are planning on publicly unveiling their new PAKFA/T-50 at the upcoming MAKS airshow (August 16-21) at the Zhukovsky airfield outside Moscow.

Sukhoi T-50 PAKFA Public Debut Planned for MAKS 2011 in August

Fighter Aircraft
by Tamir Eshel  |  on July 27th, 2011  |

Following exclusive displays to VIPs, the latest Russian 5th Generation Fighter, Sukhoi T50 (PAKFA) will make its debut at the MAKS Aviasalon in Zhukovsky, near Moscow in August.

Russia’s Sukhoi T-50 fifth-generation fighter, also known as PAK-FA, will make its public debut at the upcoming MAKS 2011 airshow near Moscow in August, 2011, according to Nikolai Zanegin, Deputy General Director of Russia’s Aviasalon company, quoted by Russian News Agency Novosti.

The Sukhoi T-50 fighter is being developed by the Sukhoi design bureau and built at a plant in Komsomolsk-on-Amur, in Russia’s Far East. The first prototype conducted its maiden flight in January 2010 and has so far carried out over 40 test flights. Two more prototypes are at various stages of testing. The Russian Air Force has said it had plans to acquire over 60 T-50 fighters after 2015.

The MAKS-2011 air show will be held at Zhukovsky outside Moscow on August 16-21. In all, 627 companies, including 473 Russian and 154 foreign exhibitors.

Other Russian made modern fighters to be demonstrated in flight include the Su-35, MiG-35 and Su-30 MK2. The helicopter display will include the Ka-226Т and Mi-34S1 helicopters along with Ka-52, Mi-28NE and Mi-8.

Guest performers at MAKS 2011 will be the French Air Force rafale. The French fighter will be flown to Moscow from its home base at Saint Dizier, France. F-15E strike fighters from U.S. European command will also participate in the flight display, along with A-10, F-16s, B-52, KC-10 and KC-135 tankers, C-130J Super Hercules and C-5 Galaxy shown on the static park. Other aircraft on display will include the Airbus A380, Boeing C-17 and Alenia C-72J Spartan transport aircraft.

 

[Retired AF Guy]

Video of first public showing of the new Russian T-50 at the MAKS 2011 airshow :

http://en.rian.ru/video/20110817/165867334.html

 

[Sythen]

http://www.sunnewsnetwork.ca/sunnews/world/archives/2012/06/20120623-125528.html

QMI AGENCY

The Russians are coming!
For three days beginning Tuesday, a Russian Federation Tupolev TU-154M aircraft will conduct observation flights over the country.

But the exercise is in accordance with the Treaty on Open Skies, the Department of National Defence assures us.

A Tupolev TU-154M aircraft, which arrived in Trenton, ON, Saturday, "will be accorded its legal right of an unimpeded observation overflight of Canadian territory, in fulfillment of Canada's obligations as a state party to the Treaty on Open Skies," the DND said in a statement.

More on link. An interesting treaty that I'd never heard of before.. Good idea, I think.

 

[CougarKing]

A "light tactical version"??  ???

Defense News

Russia Orders New MiG-29 Jet Fighters To Increase Strike Capability
Apr. 21, 2014 - 01:55PM  |  By JAROSLAW ADAMOWSKI

WARSAW — The Russian Ministry of Defense has placed an order for its first 16 Mikoyan MiG-29 SMT jet fighters in the “new light tactical version,” Russian Aircraft Corporation MiG said in a statement

The fighters were modernized and fitted with improved ability to eliminate air, ground and sea targets with air-to-air and air-to-surface missiles, the statement said.


In comparison with the MiG-29, the SMT variant is considered three times more effective in combat, according to its manufacturer. In addition, the operational costs of the SMT version are 40 percent lower compared with the earlier variant.

The aircraft is equipped with a Zhuk-ME radar that enables tracking of up to 10 air targets and the capability to fire missiles at four targets simultaneously. The jet fighter entered serial production in 2004, but this marks the first order placed by the Russian Defense Ministry.

(...EDITED)

 

[CougarKing]

Military.com

Dutch Scramble Jets After Russian Bombers Approach

Associated Press | Apr 23, 2014

AMSTERDAM -- The Dutch defense department says several NATO member countries scrambled jets Wednesday afternoon after a pair of Russian bomber planes approached their airspace over the North Sea.


The Dutch ministry identified the planes as two Russian TU-95 Bears, and said it had launched two F-16s from Volkel air force base to intercept them. The Russian jets were escorted by aircraft from the Netherlands, Britain and Denmark until they departed.


(...EDITED)

 

[Eye In The Sky]

If this were a completely isolated event, I'd be more likely to say "meh".  But with everything else going on...

 

[CougarKing]

To think that Minsk is more firmly in Moscow's orbit than Kiev has been recently...

Russia Is Deploying More Air Power Near NATO Borders
Belarusian airfield gets upgrades to support Russian Su-27s

OSIMINT in War is Boring

The latest satellite imagery from April 2014 shows several additions to the 61st Fighter Air Base at Baranovichi in Belarus, fewer than 90 and 80 miles from the Polish and Lithuania borders, respectively.

The Belarusian facility is an important operating base for Russian warplanes as tensions mount between Moscow and NATO over the former's annexation of Ukraine's strategic Crimean Peninsula.

The Digital Globe satellite shot depicts an expanded Quick Reaction Alert area with a new revetment to accommodate four Russian Su-27 fighters. Three Belarusian MiG-29s are visible, parked in revetments alongside the Russian aircraft.

A Russian A-50 radar plane is nearby - proof that the command-and-control aircraft was still operating from the air base in April, after deploying to Belarus for a regional air-defense exercise in mid-March.

While both Russia and NATO countries always say their respective deployments are not aimed at each another, in this case it's not too difficult to read between the lines.

The recent airfield improvements could be signs of Moscow's intention to follow through with its 2013 promise and send additional jets to 61st Fighter Air Base by next year. In addition to the expanded QRA area, engineers have also added two or three berms to the air base that could eventually support radars.


War Is Boring

 

[CougarKing]

Back to the cat and mouse games of the Cold War? Please note a similar incident on April 14 where a Russian Su24 "buzzed" a US destroyer in the Black Sea.

CNN

U.S. official: 'Dangerous' Russian jet fly-by was 'straight out of a movie'
From Jim Sciutto and Barbara Starr, CNN
updated 8:42 PM EDT, Tue June 3, 2014

(CNN) - A Russian fighter jet buzzed dangerously close to a U.S. military plane in April, a U.S. official said Tuesday, describing the fly-by as "straight out of a movie."

The Russian jet flew within 100 feet of the nose of a U.S. Air Force reconnaissance plane over the Sea of Okhotsk between Russia and Japan, a Defense Department official said.

The fly-by "put the lives of the U.S. crew in jeopardy," the U.S. official said, calling it "one of the most dangerous close passes in decades."

The incident occurred on April 23, the Defense Department official said, when a U.S. Air Force RC-135U aircraft flying on a routine mission over the Sea of Okhotsk was intercepted by a Russian Su-27 Flanker aircraft.

The Russian aircraft turned and "showed its belly" to the U.S. crew so they could see it was armed with missiles, a U.S. military official said Tuesday.

 

[CougarKing]

So says RT, which is not exactly the most reliable of sources...

RT

Russian nuclear-capable bombers 'tested' US air defences 16 times in last 10 days
Published time: August 07, 2014 20:58

(Reuters) Russian strategic nuclear bombers and other military aircraft entered US air defense identification zones (ADIZs) at least 16 times over the past ten days, American defense officials confirmed on Thursday.

(...EDITED)

But an unnamed defense official familiar with the incursion reports disagreed with Smith’s assessment. “These are not just training missions,” the official told Gertz, saying that Russian strategic nuclear forces appear to be“trying to test our air defense reactions, or our command and control systems.”

NORAD scrambled fighter jets several times when Russian strategic aircraft flew along US ADIZs. The planes included a mix of Tu-95 Bear H heavy bombers and Tu-142 Bear F maritime reconnaissance aircraft, as well as one IL-20 intelligence collection aircraft, Smith said.

(...EDITED)

 

[MilEME09]

"oh hi I'm Russia, don't mind me just probing your air space" Putin really seems to want a stand off with the rest, with Ukraine as the new dividing line.

 

[Colin Parkinson]

Maybe the USAF is secretly paying the Russians to do this to provide justification for aircraft purchases when they go in front of Congress? On the other hand maybe Putin figures Obama likes being probed?

Damm my tinfoil hat fell off again...

 

[Retired AF Guy]

Actually, the last two-three years have seen a resurgence in Russian air force activity, and just not against the US, but also against Canada, Norway, the UK and Japan. These flights have included the Tu-95 Bear-H, Tu-22M Backfire, and Su-27 Flankers.

Canadian jets repel Russian airspace probe

Intense Air-To-Air Intercepts Off The Coast of US, Russia & China

RAF planes scrambled to investigate Russian bombers flying very close to UK airspace

 

[vonGarvin]

And with Russia retaining the former East Prussia, and the Baltic states being NATO members now, the militaries are frequently in close contact...