Su-30 of the Russian Aerospace Forces took off over the Black Sea as British Air Force aircraft appeared
[Regnum] A Su-30 fighter of the Russian Aerospace Forces took off over the Black Sea as a British RC-135 reconnaissance aircraft and two Typhoon fighters of the British Air Force approached. The Russian Ministry of Defense announced this on March 6.“When the Russian fighter approached, foreign military aircraft made a turn from the state border of the Russian Federation. The Russian plane returned safely to its home airfield. There were no violations of the state border,” the department said in a statement.
It is emphasized that the Su-30 carried out the flight in strict compliance with all international standards over neutral waters without crossing air routes or dangerously approaching foreign aircraft.
As Regnum reported, in October Russia scrambled Su-27 fighters because of three NATO aircraft over the Black Sea. Then NATO aircraft were heading towards the state border of the Russian Federation, the pilots similarly identified them as Typhoon multirole fighters and an RC-135 electronic reconnaissance and electronic warfare aircraft.
In August 2023, a Russian Su-30 destroyed a Ukrainian Armed Forces military boat with a crew east of Zmeiny Island in the Black Sea. On the night of August 30, Russian fighters hit four military boats with Ukrainian paratroopers in the Black Sea. There were a total of up to 50 people on board the destroyed boats. A few days earlier, Russian aircraft hit the high-speed military boat Willard Sea Force of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the Zmeinoye area, also with a Ukrainian landing force.
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Expert Koshkin: information about the use of the F-35 in Ukraine may turn out to be a hoaxThe statement by the Minister of Defense of Singapore about the use of F-35 fighter jets in Ukraine may be a deliberately organized information dump in the interests of the United States, which is trying to involve its military-political allies in the Ukrainian conflict to a greater extent. This version was expressed by Andrei Koshkin, an expert at the Association of Military Political Scientists, when commenting to a Regnum correspondent on information about the likely use of fifth-generation American combat aircraft in Ukraine.
According to Koshkin, the statement about the use of the latest types of military equipment in Ukraine, such as the F-35, is a clear signal that indicates that the United States is not only not reducing its participation in the Ukrainian conflict, but quite the contrary - it is strengthening its presence. And this, in turn, should encourage Washington’s military-political allies (primarily European) to act similarly.
It is no secret to anyone how involved the Western military machine, led by the United States, is in the conflict in Ukraine, the expert noted. These include high-ranking advisers, the provision of intelligence, and the supply of weapons and equipment, including Abrams tanks.
However, recently the Kiev regime began to suffer a clear defeat on the battlefield, expressed primarily in the failure of the “counter-offensive”, as well as in the absence of some of the funds previously promised in Washington, and in difficulties in attracting additional assistance for Ukraine from European countries.
“The United States is trying to shift the main burden of the Ukrainian conflict onto Europe’s shoulders and is very dissatisfied with the very sluggish actions of its European allies in this direction,” Koshkin noted.
As a result, fears have matured in the White House that the current Ukrainian regime will not cope with the task assigned to it by the West to defeat Russia on the battlefield. But in Washington they are trying to stretch out the conflict at least until November 5, 2024, when the presidential elections will be held in the United States, the political scientist is sure.
“And for this, the Americans are trying to drag European states into the conflict as much as possible - first in the information space, and then in the political and military-technical sphere,” the expert stated.
The F-35 is one of the most advanced modern combat vehicles in the air, Koshkin noted. And its use in Ukraine could theoretically be useful for the Pentagon to study the capabilities of the Russian air defense forces. But this is such an expensive product that it is not a good idea to deliver it to a combat zone or even test it there. However, reports of the alleged use of such fighters may well produce the impression Washington needs.
We should not forget that Singapore has fairly close bilateral ties with Washington, the interlocutor of IA Regnum recalled. In fact, the small Asian state is one of the US allies in Southeast Asia, and its participation in information support from the White House is not excluded.
The United States recently deployed its F-35 fighter jets in a special military operation (SVO) zone in Ukraine to identify the positions of Russian air defense forces (ADF). This statement was voiced by Singapore's Minister of Defense Ng Eng Hen on the official website of his department. A Pentagon spokesman denied this report.
Last summer, the British edition of the Economist reported that Western countries were transmitting information about Russian radars, electronic warfare (EW) and air defense systems to the Kiev regime. The article stated that the Ukrainian Armed Forces use this information to launch attacks against the Russian military.
And last week, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said that US and British special services are supplying the Ukrainian military with intelligence for targeted missile attacks on Russian troops.
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US B-52H and B1B strategic bombers fly over SwedenUS strategic bombers B-1B Lancer and B-52 Stratofortress flew over Swedish territory on March 6. As stated by the Royal Air Force, the flight took place during joint exercises.
“The Lancer and Stratofortress, accompanied by the Swedish Jas 39 Gripen, will fly over a large part of Swedish airspace and, weather permitting, will be visible over the center of Stockholm and Uppsala, as well as over other areas,” said the announcement on the Swedish Air Force website.
According to the Swedish side, in this way the exercise participants practiced the defense of Sweden and joint interaction, after which the bombers headed to Norway to participate in the NATO Nordic Response 2024 maneuvers.
As Regnum reported, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on March 2 spoke about the response to the accession of Sweden and Finland to NATO. He said it was surprising to see the speed with which these countries had changed the neutrality that had given them their reputation for decades. Long decades of good neighborliness, according to Lavrov, went up in smoke with their accession to the bloc, and therefore the Russian leadership decided to deploy additional weapons in the newly created Moscow and Leningrad military districts.
Russian President Vladimir Putin emphasized at the end of 2023 that Russia has no reason to fight with NATO countries, but at the same time pointed out that the leaders of Western countries have not abandoned aggressive goals. NATO activity has increased sharply, and significant forces have been transferred from the United States to Russia’s borders, the president noted.
Military exercises Nordic Response will take place in northern Finland, Norway and Sweden from March 4 to 15 with the participation of more than 20 thousand troops from 14 countries. The maneuvers will be part of the North Atlantic Alliance's Steadfast Defender 2024 exercises, which started on January 31 and will last until May. According to legend, one of the NATO countries is attacked by a fictional country from the east. The exercises are planned to be carried out in territories from Romania to Norway.
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Russian State Duma calls the appearance of NATO aircraft in the Black Sea a challenge
State Duma deputy from the Crimean region, reserve major general Leonid Ivlev called the appearance of NATO combat aircraft in the Black Sea a challenge.
“The appearance of the Typhoon, which for the first time accompanies a US reconnaissance aircraft over the Black Sea, is a challenge, a test of our weaknesses. Cooperation of the West in the military industry has turned into cooperation in support of the Kiev regime. I believe that the number of such flights will increase - and this must be taken into account in combat work,” Ivlev told RIA Novosti.
According to him, the appearance of NATO combat aircraft over the Black Sea is doomed to failure.
“Our pilots will not allow enemy aircraft to enter Russian airspace and, if necessary, will, without a doubt, carry out combat orders to destroy enemies. Russian pilots, trained in the tactics of air combat heroes - Russian Alexander Pokryshkin, Ukrainian Ivan Kozhedub, Crimean Tatar Amet- Khan Sultan, “are faithful to their oath. It has always been so, and it will continue to be so,” the deputy said.
On Wednesday, the Ministry of Defense reported that the Russian Su-30 fighter prevented British Air Force aircraft from violating the state border over the Black Sea. As the Russian fighter approached, the RC-135 electronic reconnaissance and electronic warfare aircraft and two RAF Typhoon multi-role fighters turned around.
A day earlier, a similar incident occurred involving an E-3F long-range radar detection and control aircraft and two Rafal-S fighters of the French Aerospace Forces. Then the Russian Su-27 fighter was lifted into the air.