Obama Permits 2 Russian Bombers To Intrude On U.S. Airspace Unaccompanied

Last year’s intercepts included the following encounters, according to NORAD:

• On April 2, 2014, two U.S. F-22 fighters intercepted two Bear bombers west of Alaska’s coast.
• On June 9, 2014, two F-22s intercepted four Bears and one refueling tanker near Alaska. Two of the Bears later flew near the California coast and were intercepted by two F-15s.
• Early August 2014: NORAD notes a “spike” Russian aircraft operating in and around the U.S. ADIZ.
• On Sept 17, 2014, two F-22s intercepted two Russian IL-78 refueling tankers, two Russian Mig-31 fighter jets and two Bear long-range bombers in the ADIZ west of Alaska. The Russian aircraft flew a loop south, then turned west toward Russia.
• On Sept. 18, 2014, two Bears were intercepted and identified by two Canadian CF-18 fighters in the western reaches of the Canadian ADIZ, in the Beaufort Sea.
• On Dec. 8, 2014, two CF-18s intercepted two Bears near the Beaufort Sea off Canada’s coast.

In Europe, the latest bomber encounter took place on April 14, when two British Typhoon jet fighters intercepted two Bear H bombers near British airspace.

A Russian embassy spokesman did not return an email seeking comment.

Senior military officials have said Russia has stepped up such bomber flights near U.S. coasts as part of a strategic messaging and influence operation.

Northern Command commander Adm. William Gortney told reporters April 7 that Russia is developing a far more capable military than its predecessor, the Soviet Union, which made up for its poor quality of troops and equipment by deploying very large numbers of forces, he said.

Moscow also has published a new military doctrine that explains the military annexation of Ukraine’s Crimea and covert backing of armed rebels in eastern Ukraine, Gortney said.

“At the same time, they are messaging us,” the four-star admiral said. “They’re messaging us that they’re a global power—we do the same sort of thing—with their long-range aviation.”

Both numbers of flights and numbers of locations for the bomber flights “have gone up,” he said.

“So we watch very carefully what they’re doing,” Gortney said. “They are adhering to international standards that are required by all airplanes that are out there. And everybody is flying in a professional manner on their side and our side as we watch very closely.”

“But really, my question is, what is their intent long-term-wise?”

The latest Bear bomber intrusion near Alaska followed the intercept of a U.S. RC-135 reconnaissance aircraft over Baltic Sea on April 7 that the Pentagon said was provocative and dangerous.

Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the Russian Su-27 jet conducted a “reckless” and “unprofessional” intercept of the RC-135 and noted that the Pentagon protested that U.S.-Russia aerial encounter.

Gen. Phillip Breedlove, commander of the U.S. European Command, told a Senate hearing Thursday that a “revanchist” Russia threat under Vladimir Putin is the most serious security worry facing the region.

“Russia is blatantly challenging the rules and principles that have been the bedrock of European security for decades,” Breedlove told the Senate Armed Services Committee.

“This is global. It’s not regional, and it is enduring, not temporary,” he said. “Russian aggression is clearly visible in its illegal occupation of Crimea and its continued operations in Eastern Ukraine.”

Breedlove said the Russians are waging “hybrid” warfare using both military forces and information operations. In Ukraine they have supplied proxies with significant assistance, he said.

“What worries me is Russia as a nation now adopting an approach that says they can and will use military power to change international borders,” Breedlove said. “That’s what I truly worry about every day.”