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RAF Jets Intercept Russian Bomber

Discussion in 'Serious' started by The Stig, 23 Aug 2007.

  1. The Stig

    The Stig What's a Dremel?

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  2. Tim S

    Tim S OG

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    :eeek:

    I didn't realise that they'd already started introducing the Eurofighter.
     
  3. yodasarmpit

    yodasarmpit Modder

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    There was a similar incident just a couple of months ago as well.
     
  4. The cheapskate

    The cheapskate One custom title before Matty

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    Any one else be tempted to say we should have shot it down?

    as far as I know, we dont fly english bombers over Russia, So why are they to us?

    Do it the American way, Shoot first, Questions later.
     
  5. Hells_Bliss

    Hells_Bliss What's a Dremel?

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    it's all happening over international waters afaik
     
  6. Glider

    Glider /dev/null

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    Since when did it become a crime to fly over a country? Regardless of the fact that it was a bomber or a airliner (Airliners can be equally as devastating, remember 9/11)...

    But in regards of violating airspace... How many countries have their airspace under control of some foreign country (Iraq => US and so on?) and how many spy missions are held, even now? I didn't ask anyone to come and look in my back garden, so shoot them down too...

    I don't think I want to live on the same globe as the guys who actually do things that way...
     
  7. Moriquendi

    Moriquendi Bit Tech Biker

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    Its been a crime for a long time, you may remember that various "round the world" flights have run into trouble when countries refused overflight permission.

    Moriquendi
     
  8. themax

    themax What's a Dremel?

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    You aren't serious are you?

    Last time I checked bombers were capable of carrying Nuclear Warheads besides their usual large conventional and non conventional payloads. That's why it became a crime.

    Spy missions I thought ended in the Cold War era. Most countries find it cheaper to launch a satellite and not risk a pilot and expensive fuel for repeated over passes. The SR-71 and U-2 hasn't been used in decades as far as I know, don't know about other countries.
     
  9. Flibblebot

    Flibblebot Smile with me

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    Quite right. According to another more detailed report I read somewhere (can't remember where, sorry), the Russian plane turned away before it reached British waters.

    I think the only reason for the RAF to release this info was so that they could say "look, we're using the Typhoon"
     
  10. Hamish

    Hamish What's a Dremel?

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    RTFA
    was over the north atlantic, as in international waters
    the russian bomber had as much right to be there as the RAF fighter..
     
  11. Techno-Dann

    Techno-Dann Disgruntled kumquat

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    It wasn't an overflight - the intercept happened over the north Atlantic, not over Great Britain. If the bomber actually had penetrated British airspace, the entire situation would have been much less friendly.

    (Not to mention that it was a reconnaissance version of the plane- no bomb bay, IIRC, just a lot of optical and electronic espionage hardware.)

    As it is, the situation looks a lot like the saber-rattling games that Russia was playing over the Bering Sea (between Alaska and Russia) during the cold war - send a bomber or two towards the US, wait for it to get intercepted (US fighters within five miles or so), keep going straight for a while, and then turn around and head home - a fairly safe way to give the US defense system a little poke.

    Now, of course, the entire question turns to the military psychologists: What did Russia mean by this gesture?
     
  12. Glider

    Glider /dev/null

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    That's mostly because they didn't file correct flightplans (which in balooning is quite hard, I know). But let me rephrase... Since when did it become a crime to fly over the UK?

    I am serious... Every plane is capable of carrying any "payload"... I'd rather have a 500pound bomb crashing down on my house, then a 737... And Nuclear Warheads are mostly delivered by rockets, lot safer for the crew of the bomber you know...

    Spy missions fueled the weapons build up, I tought diplomacy ended the Cold War...

    Spy missions were carried out Afghanistan that I know of... I highly doubt the U2s and SR71 of the US are grounded nowadays...

    EDIT:
    Probably a routine training flight over international waters ;)
     
  13. Hugo.B

    Hugo.B What's a Dremel?

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    They come up on flying visits to Lossiemouth occasionally, been seeing them for some time now.
    From what I've heard they're a waste of money, and compare very badly to other planes of their class, for example, the JAS 39 Gripen.
     
    Last edited: 23 Aug 2007
  14. Guest-16

    Guest-16 Guest

    Anti-American BS. Blah.
     
  15. Amon

    Amon inch-perfect

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    I read more Eurofighter propaganda in that article than any concern surrounding the Russian "bomber".
     
  16. specofdust

    specofdust Banned

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    Given the ammount of Blue on Blue stuff that's happened in Iraq I think what he said is not without at least a grain of truth.
     
  17. Ramble

    Ramble Ginger Nut

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    U2 spy planes are still in common use, they fly them over Iraq and Afghanistan, and possibly other countries too since they fly so high they don't violate airspace.
    The SR-71s were all grounded but of course there are conspiracy theories about replacement planes.

    EDIT: I don't think Russia's bombers are too much of a military concern, those things are pretty old now. The Eurofighter or FA-22 could shoot those things down faster than a green snake up a sugarcane.
     
  18. Nexxo

    Nexxo * Prefab Sprout – The King of Rock 'n' Roll

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    Yeah, we can all see every day what a successful conflict-solving approach that has turned out to be... :rolleyes:
     
  19. Moriquendi

    Moriquendi Bit Tech Biker

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    Since aeroplanes have been able to carry dangerous payloads, its not just the 'bad' countries that dont allow overflights, the basic system is that its illegal unless its been made legal or you have permission. So there are exceptions for certain classes of plane and pilot ( gliders, microlights, etc) but they're limited in altitude (legally) and there are still restriction zones around all sorts of things, powerstations, airbases, airports. The sky is not a free place.

    This sort of thing has been going on for decades, all through the cold war Soviet "bombers" (even the reconnaissance versions are armed) would fly to the limit of British or US terretorial waters, inteceptors would be scrambled and shadow them till they went home.

    If I had to guess at the reasoning behind it I would say it was probably the Russians saying "you're not really that far away you know"

    Moriquendi

    Edit:mad: Ramble, Is there an altitude limit on airspace?
     
  20. steveo_mcg

    steveo_mcg What's a Dremel?

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    These are nuclear bombers though, designed to carry thousands of kilos of nuclear bombs (according to wiki, i know ropey source but its good enough) a couple of these wouldn't leave much left of the uk. **** i'd rather have half of Singapore airlines crash down than a flight of these things.
     

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