{"id":1226,"date":"2017-06-22T21:00:07","date_gmt":"2017-06-22T18:00:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.xairforces.com\/?p=1226"},"modified":"2017-06-23T21:00:36","modified_gmt":"2017-06-23T18:00:36","slug":"aerial-spies-how-nato-is-searching-for-any-loopholes-in-russias-defense","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.xairforces.com\/?p=1226","title":{"rendered":"Aerial Spies: How NATO is Searching for Any Loopholes in Russia’s Defense"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"USAF<\/a>

USAF Boeing RC-135 reconnaissance aircraft (Photo by CCO)<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n

Commenting on the chain of aerial incidents along Russia’s western borders, when Moscow was forced to scramble its combat jets to intercept US reconnaissance jets, Russian military experts explained to Sputnik that the real purpose of these incidents was to search for any loopholes in Russia’s defense.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

The attempt by\u00a0a NATO fighter aircraft to\u00a0approach a Russian plane carrying Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu on\u00a0Wednesday became only the latest episode in\u00a0a string of\u00a0similar incidents along\u00a0Russia’s western borders.<\/p>\n

On June 21, a NATO F-16 fighter aircraft made an attempt to\u00a0approach the plane carrying Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu over\u00a0neutral Baltic waters, but\u00a0was promptly chased away by\u00a0a Russian Su-27 warplane.<\/p>\n

On Monday, Russia scrambled its Su-27 fighter to\u00a0intercept a target over\u00a0neutral Baltic Sea waters, which turned out\u00a0to be a US Boeing RC-135 reconnaissance aircraft.<\/p>\n

Ten minutes after\u00a0the incident, another RC-135 entered the zone, which was also intercepted by\u00a0the Russian Su-27.<\/p>\n

The Russian Defense Ministry said that over\u00a0the past\u00a0week, US and NATO reconnaissance aircraft have carried out\u00a0more than\u00a015 flights over\u00a0the Baltics with\u00a0reconnaissance purposes in\u00a0the immediate vicinity of\u00a0the Russian border.<\/p>\n

\n
\"Su-27<\/div>\n
CC0 \/ \/<\/div>\n
Tensions in the Air: NATO-Russian Aerial Intercepts Intensify Amid Escalation in Europe<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Russian military analysts commented to\u00a0Sputnik on\u00a0the incidents.<\/p>\n

Most of\u00a0the flights of\u00a0NATO reconnaissance aircraft were within\u00a0the area of\u00a0responsibility of\u00a0Russia’s 6th Air and Air Defense Forces Army. This strategic unit of\u00a0the Russian Aerospace Forces is one of\u00a0the strongest and best equipped. It covers the sky above\u00a029 Russian regions in\u00a0the west of\u00a0the country and safeguards 3,750 kilometers of\u00a0Russia’s state border.<\/p>\n

In case of\u00a0a hypothetic armed conflict with\u00a0NATO member states, this particular unit will be the first to\u00a0deter the air and missile strike of\u00a0the enemy aviation.<\/p>\n

“It’s only too natural that this direction, to\u00a0put it mildly, is of\u00a0a particular interest to\u00a0NATO,” Russian defense analyst, retired Colonel Alexander Zhilin, a military expert who heads the Center for\u00a0the Study of\u00a0Applied Problems of\u00a0National Security told Sputnik.<\/p>\n

‘They are trying to\u00a0reconnoiter at\u00a0most the potential of\u00a0our units in\u00a0this particular district. American RC-135 reconnaissance aircraft are the most often to\u00a0fly alongside\u00a0Russia’s borders. These are the aircraft of\u00a0electronic reconnaissance, whose task is to\u00a0identify and fixate the radio frequency used for\u00a0negotiations by\u00a0the military and other law enforcement units, for\u00a0example, FSB Border Guard units,” he explained.<\/p>\n

The expert particularly noted that this kind of\u00a0information is gathered purely in\u00a0case of\u00a0a planned warfare. These frequencies are used, among\u00a0others, to\u00a0provide software for\u00a0the radio-electronic warfare units which will enable them during\u00a0the so-called “hot phase” of\u00a0the warfare to\u00a0jam and eavesdrop the enemy.<\/p>\n

The expert stressed that such reconnaissance is always done covertly.<\/p>\n

Numerous military drills of\u00a0NATO member states in\u00a0Eastern Europe, bellicose statements of\u00a0its generals and\u00a0 shouting of\u00a0the Baltic politicians about\u00a0the so-called “Russian threat” is nothing but\u00a0a cover for\u00a0a silent combat work to\u00a0reveal any possible loopholes in\u00a0Russian defense, he said.<\/p>\n

Live-lure hunt<\/strong><\/p>\n

One of\u00a0the special tasks of\u00a0the western intelligence is the detection of\u00a0the location of\u00a0Russia’s air defense missile systems of\u00a0the 6th Air and Air Defense Forces Army and of\u00a0the Russia’s Western military district as\u00a0a whole.<\/p>\n

\n
\"US<\/div>\n
\u00a9 AFP 2017\/ GREG WOOD<\/div>\n
What Was a US Spy Plane Searching for Along Russia’s Borders on V-Day?<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

For the last decade, Russian military leadership was able to\u00a0set up\u00a0a serious multi-echelon air defense system in\u00a0this district. In case of\u00a0an aerial attack, S-300PM and S-400 air defense missile systems, which are able to\u00a0hit targets at\u00a0a distance up\u00a0to 400 kilometers (depending on\u00a0the intercepting missile) will be the first to\u00a0join the battle.<\/p>\n

If the enemy is able to\u00a0pass through\u00a0the first line of\u00a0defense, then middle-range complexes S-300 PS and S-350 Vityaz will join in.
\nThe aircraft and missiles which were still able to\u00a0escape will then come under\u00a0fire of\u00a0the short-range system Pantsir-S1.<\/p>\n

In case of\u00a0need, these systems could be reinforced by\u00a0air defense missile systems of\u00a0the Ground Forces, namely long-range S-300V, Buk-M2, Tor M2 and others.<\/p>\n

The enemy of\u00a0course has no desire to\u00a0face such a missile defense “fence”, thus he tries to\u00a0locate the positions of\u00a0Russian systems to\u00a0be able to\u00a0destroy it beforehand.<\/p>\n

Political scientist and professor at\u00a0the Academy of\u00a0Military Sciences Sergei Sudakov explained to\u00a0Sputnik how it works: the US and NATO are trying to\u00a0spot the exact location of\u00a0these systems by ‘live-lure. ” When a provocateur aircraft approaches the border, the radar systems switch on, catch the goal and start tracking it thus revealing their location.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, the US satellites in\u00a0the sky above\u00a0the region make the aerial mapping of\u00a0the area based on\u00a0the data received from\u00a0the aircraft. The aim is to\u00a0locate the types of\u00a0armament pegged to\u00a0the radar, their number and exact location.<\/p>\n

\n
\"NATO's<\/div>\n
\u00a9 Photo: Youtube \/ ????????? ??????<\/a><\/div>\n
Closest of Calls: WATCH Su-27 Chase NATO F-16 Away From Russian Defense Minister’s Plane<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Meanwhile, Alexander Zhilin said that Russian pilots are also of\u00a0particular interest to\u00a0NATO. They measure how quickly Russian jets take to\u00a0the air, their speed, the eagerness to\u00a0encounter, the frequencies they use and whether they are acting cautiously or courageously.<\/p>\n

The recent attempt by\u00a0a NATO F-16 fighter aircraft to\u00a0approach a Russian plane carrying Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu was a provocation of\u00a0this kind. However it was on\u00a0the verge of\u00a0breaking the rules. An interception of\u00a0a high-profile aircraft which carried a high-ranking official or high-profile diplomatic values is a slap which could incite a large-scale war.<\/p>\n

However the pilot of\u00a0Russia’s Su-27 jet was absolutely adequate who just chased away the provocateur from\u00a0the aircraft of\u00a0the Russian Defense Minister without\u00a0any risk, the expert concluded.<\/p>\n

Source: SPUTNIK RUSSIA\/MOSCOW – By Military & Intelligence News – sputniknews.com<\/a> – 22 June 2017<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Commenting on the chain of aerial incidents along Russia’s western borders, when Moscow was forced to scramble its combat jets to intercept US reconnaissance jets, Russian military experts explained to Sputnik that the real...<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1228,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[17,36,173,174,1,7,6,32,18],"tags":[1342,1343,195,1335,1344,69,1345,1334,1337,1339,1338,1341,1340,1346,1336,97],"aioseo_notices":[],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.xairforces.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1226"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.xairforces.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.xairforces.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.xairforces.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.xairforces.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1226"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.xairforces.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1226\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1229,"href":"https:\/\/www.xairforces.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1226\/revisions\/1229"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.xairforces.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1228"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.xairforces.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1226"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.xairforces.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1226"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.xairforces.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1226"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}