Putin's Probing

Maj Ahron Oddman — Fri, 13 Jun 2014 09:59:25 -0400

Summer time reindeer games with the Russians. Those are very capable bombers, range over 9,000 miles without refueling, large potentially nuclear payload. I still want to live in California btw.
#reasonswhywedon'tneedmorenuclearpowers

4 Russian Bombers Flew Within 50 Miles Of The California Coast

The Air Force scrambled F-22 fighter jets.

Response by 2LT Private RallyPoint Member made Jun 13 at 2014 10:06 AM

2LT Private RallyPoint Member — Fri, 13 Jun 2014 10:06:26 -0400

Some interesting commentary:
Conaway said in an interview. “Truth of the matter is we would have squashed either one of those [bombers] like baby seals.”

It seems like just training but with the tension that exists it might be unnecessary.

Response by Sgt Randy Hill made Jun 13 at 2014 10:12 AM

Sgt Randy Hill — Fri, 13 Jun 2014 10:12:28 -0400

Sir as an old cold war vet, I feel that every time we announce military budget cuts to the rest of the world, we start having our adversaries probing and testing for weak spots.

Response by PO1 Private RallyPoint Member made Jun 13 at 2014 11:30 AM

PO1 Private RallyPoint Member — Fri, 13 Jun 2014 11:30:09 -0400

As an old hand at monitoring and dealing with these particular bombers - yeah, us Navy types dealt with them all the time at sea back in the day - more often than the Air Force ever thought about.

For some background: Without having read any recent articles about this particular fly-by I suspect these two pairs were on a basic navigational training with a side-job of Elint recording with the emphasis of navigational training. The Tu-95 / bear Foxtrot version is so reliable that we should be impressed with their continued usage - much like the venerated C-130. Since I don't know the precise unit these two pair derive from I will say for the record I suspect these two pair are actually TU-142F's as opposed to TU-95's. While this may seem to be a small difference - it has more to do with open ocean navigation / maritime operations than anything. Anyone who has completed an open ocean navigation course AND a land navigation course will immediately appreciate the difference. For those of you who have not had that distinction - let me say it amounts to different equipment onboard the aircraft and different training.

I also suspect there were two senior pilots/aircraft, each of which had one junior pilot/aircraft being trained - the senior of each wing being in control. While I'm at it....I'll bet there was at least one IL-78 tanker, but probably two on a rotating basis for in-air refueling. All in all, I would say this trip was a resounding success for the Russians.