Det ser ut som om BBC er ute med sin egen Tu-95. Sjekk halen.
30 October 2014 Last updated at 15:00 GMT
By Laurence Peter BBC News
An RAF Typhoon jet intercepting a Tu-95 Bear bomber
north of the UK (pic from 16 Sep 14)
Russian warplanes are carrying out
more flights in European airspace to test Nato responses and apparently imitate
combat conditions, an expert says.
Igor Sutyagin told the BBC that the Russian pilots' lack of communication
with air traffic controllers was "unfriendly" and "confrontational".
"They are training in conditions close to combat," said Mr Sutyagin, of the
Royal United Services Institute (RUSI).
Nato says there has been an "unusual" increase in such flights this week.
Tensions between Russia and Nato states have soared over the Ukraine
crisis.
"The Kremlin is playing from a position of weakness," Mr Sutyagin said. "It's
like poker, bluff - trying to intimidate the West and raise fears."
A
Nato
statement on Wednesday said that in the past 48 hours Nato jets had
intercepted eight Russian military aircraft over the North Sea/Atlantic Ocean,
as well as four over the Black Sea and more than 10 in the Baltic region.
In all the incidents the Russian planes flew in international airspace. Nato
says it tracked them "in order to identify the aircraft and protect Allied
airspace".
But in many cases the planes did not file flight plans, nor did they use
on-board transponders or maintain radio contact with civilian air traffic
control, Nato said.
Such behaviour created a risk for civilian aviation, Nato said.
Nato interception of Russian aircraft - 29 October 2014
Continue reading the main
story
- 1) Eight Russian aircraft - four Tu-95 strategic bombers and four Il-78
tanker planes - detected flying over the North Sea at 02:00 GMT on 29 October.
Two bombers continued south-west all the way to Portuguese coast before turning
round
- 2) At least seven Russian aircraft detected over Baltic Sea and intercepted
by fighter jets assigned to Nato's Baltic Air Policing Mission
- 3) Four Russian aircraft flying over Black Sea intercepted by Turkish Air
Force
Continue reading the
main story
Baltic tensions
According to Mr Sutyagin, such flights close to Nato
borders are "nothing new" but their current intensity and the lack of
communication "should be taken in the context of Russian policy - aiming at
confrontation with the West, not co-operation".
The Baltic is also a busy area for international flights, he noted, so the
pilots' failure to communicate there could be seen as "irresponsible".
Nato has stepped up its air patrols over the Baltic states - Estonia, Latvia
and Lithuania - in response to the Ukraine crisis.
The Kremlin regards the states' incorporation into Nato in 2004 as an
unfriendly act, as they used to be part of the Soviet Union and about a million
ethnic Russians still live there.
The Russian aircraft flying over Europe are said to
include types of MiG-31
Four British Typhoon jets are in Lithuania
participating in Nato air patrols
Poland has also announced plans to deploy extra forces at its eastern bases,
closer to Ukraine.
Western governments accuse Russia of having fomented the pro-Russian revolt
in eastern Ukraine and of arming the rebels there.
Nato said it had intercepted Russian aircraft more than 100 times so far this
year - three times more than it did last year.
There is speculation that the tensions could push Finland and Sweden into
joining Nato.
Russia has used a mix of old and new planes in the latest flights. They
include Tu-95 Bear bombers - dating back to the Cold War era - and MiG-31
fighters.
The Bear was a familiar sight over the North Sea during the Cold War.
Russian bombers can be armed with cruise missiles, but they are probably
using dummy missiles on these flights, Mr Sutyagin said.
"It is good practice for them - to see what happens, testing reaction times,
who scrambles, how fast, from where, and the interception tactics," he said.
Unlike the US military the Russian air force does not yet have Stealth jets
invisible to radar, he said, but it does have six undergoing trials.
Arctic reinforcements
Russian President Vladimir Putin has announced new military deployments in
the Arctic region, where Russia is developing major new oil and gas fields.
A
permanent naval base
is being set up on the New Siberian Islands.
The region is attracting international interest because the melting of Arctic
sea ice is likely to make the Northern Sea Route more navigable, shortening the
journey to China and other booming Asian markets.
Russia does not have the equivalent of the specially trained Canadian Rangers
for Arctic defence, Mr Sutyagin said.
"The Russian Arctic has a 3,400km [2,108-mile] gap in air defences," he said.
"A sabotage team could get ashore there unnoticed by boat," he said, explaining
why Russia was beefing up its military presence in the far north.
