Russia is extending its air defense envelope closer to NATO's border with a transfer of advanced S-300 missile systems close to Poland. The National Interest reports that new satellite imagery published by Google Earth shows Russia has sent the air defense missiles to Belarus near the city of Polotsk. The S-300, developed in the 1970s, is capable of putting aircraft without stealth capabilities at great risk. Russia has deployed the system to conflict zones like Crimea and sold it to Iran, against the urging of western countries.
The Air Force is training pilots not to take the bait when Russian warplanes carry out dangerous intercepts of American military aircraft. An anonymous senior Air Force official tells Air Force Times that the United States is giving its pilots three basic maxims to remember when confronted by Russian pilots pulling shenanigans: "do not turn into the intercepting aircraft"; "fly the planned route"; and "do not be provocative.” Gen. Frank Gorenc, commander of U.S. Air Forces in Europe and Africa, tells the paper that a "change in focus" is needed as U.S. forces, used to fighting in counterinsurgency and counterterrorism operations, now have to confront the prospect of "full-spectrum, high-velocity combat operations."
The Air Force is training pilots not to take the bait when Russian warplanes carry out dangerous intercepts of American military aircraft. An anonymous senior Air Force official tells Air Force Times that the United States is giving its pilots three basic maxims to remember when confronted by Russian pilots pulling shenanigans: "do not turn into the intercepting aircraft"; "fly the planned route"; and "do not be provocative.” Gen. Frank Gorenc, commander of U.S. Air Forces in Europe and Africa, tells the paper that a "change in focus" is needed as U.S. forces, used to fighting in counterinsurgency and counterterrorism operations, now have to confront the prospect of "full-spectrum, high-velocity combat operations."
- FPI’s Adesnik, Moore: Moscow’s shadow on the Warsaw Summit
RSS Feed