CNN reports that the US Navy launched four armed F/A-18 fighter jets to intercept two Russian Tu-142 Bear aircraft that were flying near the 100,000-ton aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan while it was participating in a bilateral training exercise with South Korea in the Pacific Ocean. "It is standard operating procedure for U.S. planes to escort aircraft flying in the vicinity of U.S. Navy ships," says Navy Cmdr. William J. Marks. "This type of interaction is not unprecedented. Overall I would characterize the interaction as safe." The Nimitz-class nuclear-powered USS Reagan is essentially a floating airport, complete with an air traffic control center that tracks and communicates with nearby aircraft. When the carrier engages in flight operations, it institutes a carrier control zone, which extends up to 2,500 feet and within a five-mile radius, according to the Navy's flight training instruction carrier procedures.
The lack of communication by the Russian aircraft conflicted with general aviation practice. Even commercial airports of any significant size generally expect two-way radio contact when aircraft fly as close as the Russians did, according to international aviation guidelines. Encounters such as these were common during the Cold War. They subsided with its end but picked up again under current Russian President Vladimir Putin. "Over the last few years and particularly this year and last year, with the start of the Ukraine crisis, Russia has picked up the number of sorties," says Nick de Larrinaga. adding that Putin wants to show Russia is "still a global military power and a force to be reckoned with."
Related Stories
U.S. defense officials say that a Russian fighter jet flew as close as within 3 meters of a US Navy P-8A Poseidon aircraft in international airspace:
The Pentagon says a Russian fighter plane flew within about 10ft (3m) of one of its reconnaissance aircraft operating over the Black Sea. US officials described the intercept by the SU-27 jet on Wednesday as "dangerous and unprofessional". Russia's defence ministry said the US plane had been approaching Russian territory and the SU-27 pilots had adhered to international rules. Russia is currently carrying out military exercises in the Black Sea.
Pentagon spokesman Capt Jeff Davis said the US Navy P-8A Poseidon aircraft had been conducting routine operations in international airspace when the Russian fighter made the unsafe manoeuvre. "These actions have the potential to unnecessarily escalate tensions, and could result in a miscalculation or accident," he said. A US defence official quoted by AFP news agency said the Russian plane had flown within 30ft of the P-8A before closing to just 10ft.
Also at Reuters. You may remember this similar incident.
Related: UK Defence Minister: New Cold War "Warming Up"
US Jets Scramble to Intercept Russian Planes near US Aircraft Carrier
(Score: 1) by YeaWhatevs on Monday November 02 2015, @03:12AM
... Recently. Does this mean it's time for more U.S.A. vs Russia movies to come out? Firefox with Clint Eastwood was great back in the day, how about a remake? Fly the plane by thought might seem a little dated, maybe if they add a brain implant and some thought controlled drones and missles it could be cool again?
(Score: 2) by VLM on Monday November 02 2015, @04:10PM
Fly the plane by thought might seem a little dated
My guess is a product placement movie, "fly by facebook status notification" or something like that. Or drone it by using google hangouts for the video feed.
The plot was weird, learn about Russians by stealing a physical plane? Just get a copy of the blueprints the Chinese have already stolen, geeze.
(Score: 0, Disagree) by Anonymous Coward on Monday November 02 2015, @03:19AM
You know Putin has got to have a very small penis.
(Score: 3, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Monday November 02 2015, @05:06AM
America's leader in the whitehouse has a huge black cock.
She's not afraid to use it in her husband either.
(Score: 4, Interesting) by MichaelDavidCrawford on Monday November 02 2015, @09:39AM
The soviets were far more afraid of the west than the west was afraid of the soviets. That led to them not having the means to provide pensions when their spies reached retirement age. Putin figured he could provide for himself by driving a cab.
When communism fell he was a kgb agent in east germany. He feared not retribution but starvation - he was suddenly unemployed, see.
The man is not rational. I doubt he's overcompensating for a tiny manhood; he's overcompensating for losing the cold war.
Yes I Have No Bananas. [gofundme.com]
(Score: 0, Disagree) by Anonymous Coward on Monday November 02 2015, @03:25AM
But the bigger picture is that Russia is declining in power, because of its population and economy, and this is projected to continue for decades into the current century.
So the US administration and NATO have to be careful that Russia doesn't start another WW I (which was what happened as the Austria-Hungary and Ottoman Empires collapsed), but other than that, Russia's days as a superpower appear to be behind it.
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Monday November 02 2015, @04:19AM
But the bigger picture is that Russia is declining in power, because of its population and economy, and this is projected to continue for decades into the current century.
But Russia is not a declining power because it does not fight alone. If you take into consideration Russia, China, India, Iran and possibly a swathe of weaker nations forming a military coalition against NATO, then you and other readers might wake up to what is going on.
(Score: 5, Touché) by Anonymous Coward on Monday November 02 2015, @05:04AM
ftfy
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday November 02 2015, @07:54AM
The only real economic challenger is China, and they are having growing pains right now. Who knows if it's sustainable.
(Score: 2, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Monday November 02 2015, @12:23PM
Remarkable, but sad, that an ignorant and patently wrong statement like this gets modded all the way up because of its sophomoric bash-US tone. This is really turning into a pathetic echo chamber.
(Score: 2) by Phoenix666 on Monday November 02 2015, @04:08PM
Everyone in this thread is missing the bigger picture, which is that the command-and-control, 19th century elites are losing their grip. Those elites span countries and languages and have much more in common with each other than their "countrymen." People who still cast these conflicts in nation-state terms are about 2 centuries behind the times.
Washington DC delenda est.
(Score: 2) by HiThere on Monday November 02 2015, @07:00PM
I think both are true, though I acknowledge that my sources are biased in favor of the US. China is growing in power. Japan appears to be relatively stable. Austrailia and Britain seem to be declining, but I'm not sure about the rest of the EU. I'm also not sure about New Zealand. Indonesia seems to be growing, but it's starting from a low base. India? The signals seem mixed. Vietnam is growing. Not sure about Cuba. The news about Mexico is so biased I can't even guess. Canada seems stable, but slowly declining.
What, however, about the places the news doesn't cover? It's my suspicion that one of them is growing rapidly in power, while most of the others are declining...but this is only based on historic precedent. Brazil could be becoming the next superpower. So could Argentina or Peru, but the news coverage is so scanty and unreliable that I wouldn't expect to know ahead of time. What about some place in Siberia? Unlikely, given what I know, but most of the reliable information dates back to the early 1900's. I don't expect N.Korea to be worth noticing, but S.Korea could be quite important...or not. And what about the Union of South Africa?
Geopolitics are complicated, and forcasts are even less reliable than economic forecasts...and for much the same reason: Too much intentional distortion of the data.
Javascript is what you use to allow unknown third parties to run software you have no idea about on your computer.
(Score: 0, Offtopic) by Anonymous Coward on Monday November 02 2015, @03:49AM
One of their airliner blew up midair, taking with it all the crew and passengers, more than 200 people.
A tragedy, and yet, can't help thinking about them blowing up the Malaysian airliner flying over Ukraine, and the Korean one over the Pacific.
Yes, the US shot down Iranian airliner, and we didn't fully own up (though we paid compensation).
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday November 02 2015, @04:16AM
Ignorance is bliss, isn't it.
(Score: 2, Insightful) by Ethanol-fueled on Monday November 02 2015, @05:33AM
Y'all niggaz posting in a troll discussion.
(Score: 2) by Zz9zZ on Monday November 02 2015, @08:13AM
Nodded troll for calling out the real troll, nice.
~Tilting at windmills~
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Zz9zZ on Monday November 02 2015, @08:55AM
Argh my clumsy fingers... Really though, we have two large power blocks on this planet, and as a species (the general populace) we are trying to figure out how to get along. How do we get along when we are divided as a species over stupid things like economic systems and predictions about what happens to us after we shuffle off the mortal coil.
These "conflicts" are almost entirely the result of these power blocks vying for control, messing with local politics and economics. Ethanol Fueled can be an obnoxious troll, but paying attention to his/her (ya never know, though I peg as a "him") posts I believe that he is trolling to make points and stir up the discussion.
Our militaries are messing with each other again since we seem unable to resolve issues politically/diplomatically, and it will get worse if we don't acknowledge what is happening. Or we can stick our heads in the sand and fall back on our world divisions. The French are pussies, the Russians are crazy, the Chinese are contemptible, the Brazilians are corrupt, the Indians are pussies too, and the US is the best goddamn thing since Chuck Norris made sliced bread. (I tried for stereotypes, its all bullshit)
All that, OR we are all unbelievable hypocrites wanting the best for everyone until it messes with our personal bubble. We live in artificial bubbles of information because all these world powers are scheming like some ridiculous episode of Game of Thrones, I do wish we could drop our collective egos (my country is better than yours etc...) and work for what is best for the species. Save the earth, save the animals, save the people. Share knowledge, be awesome to one another. It is that simple, though getting that through some thick egos is not.
Seeing how easily the online discourse is manipulated I want to just become a hermit. The "geniuses" doing the manipulation think they are smart enough, but they can't see the forest for the trees. All the manipulation will result in some monstrosity where innocent people die. Actually, that is already happening :(
~Tilting at windmills~
(Score: 3, Interesting) by Phoenix666 on Monday November 02 2015, @04:11PM
It's important to understand that the whole nation-state thing (ie. Russia vs. US, US vs. China, etc) is elites using the rest of us to fight proxy wars for their bank balances. How obscene is that? Instead of all of us fighting each other to the tune of millions dead, how about we all hang our elites to the tune of thousands and call it a day?
May peace reign.
Washington DC delenda est.
(Score: 2) by Zz9zZ on Tuesday November 03 2015, @06:39AM
China and France tried that with varying success that ended the same way. How do we build a set of rules that are actually able to control the funneling of power? I have hope for self sustaining communities and free sharing of information. Hard to control people whocan take care of themselves.
~Tilting at windmills~
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday November 02 2015, @06:50PM
"Divide et impera" (divide and conquer)
"Panem et circenses" (bread and circus)
What we need is young people being taught the full meaning of these two thousand years old lines.
Especially how and why governments get the first easier through the second.
(Score: 4, Insightful) by nitehawk214 on Monday November 02 2015, @04:21AM
Even the US Navy guy is saying "this is totally normal nothing to worry about". Why are we writing articles about this "omg look at what Russia is doing, alert alert!"
I suppose with trashy blogs and mass media alike, overblowing the situation sells.
"Don't you ever miss the days when you used to be nostalgic?" -Loiosh
(Score: 1) by nitehawk214 on Monday November 02 2015, @04:24AM
And I am not saying that Russia isn't trying to provoke conflict. But if the US Military is saying it is a non issue, it probably is a non issue.
"Don't you ever miss the days when you used to be nostalgic?" -Loiosh
(Score: 3, Informative) by Fluffeh on Monday November 02 2015, @05:09AM
Not quite.
The article is saying that it is a non-issue to have aircraft "escort" the other planes, but generally there is an expectation of two way communication which apparently didn't happen.
Overall though, the article is saying that this is happening more and more frequently - and THAT is really the point here - as it isn't really good news.
(Score: 5, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Monday November 02 2015, @05:11AM
Sadly, many Americans simply don't have a clue why most of the world is cheering Russia.
(Score: 2) by tangomargarine on Monday November 02 2015, @06:24AM
Feel free to enlighten us.
"Is that really true?" "I just spent the last hour telling you to think for yourself! Didn't you hear anything I said?"
(Score: 5, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Monday November 02 2015, @07:55AM
We (the rest of the world) are sick and tired of the U.S. pretending to be morally upright, spreading democracy, harmony and white goods across the world when in actual fact it:
I could go on, but I can't be bothered.
(Score: 1) by pk on Tuesday November 03 2015, @04:24AM
I'm sorry, are you describing the United States there, or Russia?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday November 03 2015, @08:12PM
Yes
(Score: 5, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Monday November 02 2015, @08:08AM
Timeline of United States military operations [wikipedia.org]
I have arbitrarily chosen a starting point of Y2000.
Others might have chosen a different year.
USA has been poking its nose into other folks' business for a LONG time.
-- gewg_
(Score: 3, Interesting) by SanityCheck on Monday November 02 2015, @03:11PM
Well yes, but that is part and parcel with being top dog. People just get giggles from blowing sand in your face.
It doesn't matter if it's anything but annoyance really. Most of the time we get into this crap because if we don't do anything people take offense also. If you do something someone else takes offense. It's a lose-lose. Think about Iraq War part 1, if we didn't attack we would get Saudis in a bunch (yes I understand reason Saddam was so powerful to begin with is our doing, but I don't want to go back in time till 4000 BC). Everything that happened after was totally related to the first war, including the second one.
I mean I don't like running around the world swinging our proverbial member either. But when I look at the EU sitting around doing diddly squat while Russia has all but invaded 4 countries so far in Europe, I really have to wonder if it's a better way to go. Letting Putin get away with things is definitely not a recipe for victory either.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday November 02 2015, @11:44PM
The other day, an AC gave a definition and needed to be corrected. [soylentnews.org]
Reading your post would be a good exercise for him.
(While there is often significant overlap between the subsets of Authoritarian Reactionary and NeoCon, they are not one and the same.)
top dog
By what metric? Infant mortality? Lifespan of its people? Gross National Happiness?
Oh, you mean the gov't that pisses away the most money on weapons because the arms industry is about all we have left of our once-mighty industrial base.
Got ya.
We Soylentils touched on these topics [soylentnews.org] in a previous thread. [soylentnews.org]
if we don't do anything[,] people take offense
Being able to deal with criticism is what we grownups call "maturity".
If you do something[,] someone else takes offense
...because, apparently, being bombed, invaded, and occupied should be considered a natural state of affairs.
It's a lose-lose
Dealing with that is called putting on your big boy pants.
The problem is that some little boys never grow up.
Statesmanship and diplomacy are alternatives to aggression.
If you choose to use weapons, it's because you failed.
You weren't sharp-witted enough to get the other guy to agree to a strategy where he is convinced that he has come out on top.
The wrong people were assigned to the task.
Saddam was so powerful
More NeoCon swill.
Saddam was fought to a standstill by Iran.
It's clear that you didn't see any images of the road back to Iraq that was covered with destroyed vehicles and dead Iraqis because of Allied (read: USA) air power.
In foreign affairs, Saddam was a tinpot.
The few times he went outside his borders, he was contained and pushed back.
No such threat from him existed in 2003[1] (to include his bluff and bluster).
Dubya simply had a hard-on for him because, years before, Saddam had made an idle threat to kill G.H.W. Bush.
...and the thing is that, under Saddam, internally, Iraq was stable and remarkably western.
Way to go solving that problem, USA.
[1] 15 of the 19 perps on 9/11 were Saudi nationals.
If USA was going to bomb a dictatorship in 2003, it clearly chose the wrong one.
while Russia has all but invaded 4 countries
Um, before USA got involved, Ukraine had a democratically-elected gov't.
The fact that USA didn't like its politics and toppled it doesn't count in your book, apparently.
Letting Putin get away with things
I suggest that you study the escapades of USA.gov before pointing fingers.
victory
You seem very obsessed with "winning".
I don't like running around the world swinging our proverbial member
It appears to me that that is exactly what you mean.
-- gewg_
(Score: 5, Insightful) by Runaway1956 on Monday November 02 2015, @08:32AM
Because we treat other people like dogs. We have done NOTHING in the mideast that I'm proud of. We have done a hell of a lot that I'm ashamed of.
Are you aware that Iran was a democracy? Five years before my birth, Iran was "The place to be". The people were enlightened, wealthy, educated, and they had a perfectly legitimate democratically elected government. It was as near to perfect as any human endeavor or human institution can be. Things were great.
Then, Operation Ajax. The Wikipedia article on Ajax is pretty accurate. It has plenty of links that you can follow to understand it better. An internet search will find enough more links that you can write a thesis. I invite you to look.
Much of our policy since, many of our actions since, are just as deplorable. How 'bout Iraq? We hated that sumbitch, Saddam. Positively hated him. Our hatred blinded us to who and what Saddam was. As evil as he was, he provided a measure of stability in the region. Few Americans understand what stability means. Take a very good look at ISIS/ISIL/DAESH. THAT is what instability is.
We've spread that instability to Tripoli. We tried to spread it to Syria. We spread it to Ukraine.
Russia said "Enough is enough. Russia is in Syria now, and they are beating DAESH down. And, we hate it. Our candy assed politicians have done everything in their power to destabilize the governments of the region, and Russia has put a halt to it.
Yes, I've skipped over a lot of other crap, only pointing out the high visibility stuff. There's been one hell of a lot of dirty shit in between Ajax and Desert Storm.
Our government is an embarrassment. Good or bad, our government is a supporter of Zionism. Definitely bad, we treat all opponents of Zionism as dogs.
No, the world doesn't love us for our cavalier attitude to the rest of the world. What would you expect? We don't "build nations". We sacrifice humans on the Altar of the Almighty Dollar.
We're gonna be able to vacation in Gaza, Cuba, Venezuela, Iran and maybe Minnesota soon. Incredible times.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Zz9zZ on Monday November 02 2015, @09:00AM
Exactly. The Russians are not much (if at all) better, but it is easy to wave the patriotic flag and think we're above such things. Thanks for the wake up call.
~Tilting at windmills~
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday November 02 2015, @04:07PM
No. The Russians ARE better for now.
For one they are not hypocrites. Russia says they are doing stuff for Russia, not for freedom, not for democracy not for whatever bullshit the US likes to say before they mess things up.
I bet that part of the ocean the US aircraft carrier is in isn't US territory. If it's not Korean territory either but international waters then the Russian planes have the same right to be there as the US planes and ships even if the US military doesn't like it. The US is trying to pretend it owns the ocean. And the US likes to pretend its doing it for defense when aircraft carriers are NOT for defense. Planes flying from airbases on your soil around your territory could be for defense, but planes flying from an aircraft carrier halfway across the world is not defense. It's "projecting power" e.g. swinging your fist. Don't be surprised if other people take offense when you swing your fist near their nose and start putting their fists near your fists as well.
Yes Russia is exerting its power but the US has exerted its power in the Middle East and arguably made things worse. Have all those drone strikes made things better? Did getting rid of Gaddafi or Saddam make Libya better? The US keep supporting the Saudis who are arming the ISIS: https://theintercept.com/2015/10/26/bbc-protects-uks-close-ally-saudi-arabia-with-incredibly-dishonest-and-biased-editing/ [theintercept.com]
Sure the Russians are backing Assad, but think about this if the US had backed Assad or just not got involved do you think Assad would be sponsoring acts of terror in the USA? In contrast the USA is sponsoring the allies of the ISIS in their fight against Assad and others. These allies often switch to joining the ISIS completely. If these allies and/or ISIS win, you'll get plenty more schools for terrorists.
The US plays with fire and feigns surprise or innocence when others or itself gets burned.
(Score: 2) by turgid on Monday November 02 2015, @09:12PM
Yes, that nice Mr Putin [youtube.com] is just doing what any other self-respecting, red-blooded man would do. What could possibly go wrong?
I refuse to engage in a battle of wits with an unarmed opponent [wikipedia.org].
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Monday November 02 2015, @04:17PM
And as an outsider I don't even see how most of the bad things the US Gov has done actually would help the US people in the long run.
Destabilizing the middle east and making groups the ISIS get stronger = more muslim extremists and more terrorists.
Swapping a few big bad guys for thousands of bad guys is not a good idea.
(Score: 2) by soylentsandor on Monday November 02 2015, @06:21PM
You might want to read "The Authoritarians" [umanitoba.ca] (online and free) to get a grasp of why some people might think that's a good idea.
The book was discussed [soylentnews.org] on this very site last year, though I think this [goodreads.com] is a better review.
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Monday November 02 2015, @08:37AM
It's an issue, but only because the US sailors were asleep, and/or had their heads up their asses while the Russians approached the carrier. Overflying a destroyer squadron was routine when I was in uniform. Overflying a carrier was pretty much unheard of. Where were all of OUR aircraft? The Russians should have been identified and intercepted before they got within 20 miles of the aircraft carrier.
You're right though, that an ATTEMPT to overfly the carrier is a non-issue.
We're gonna be able to vacation in Gaza, Cuba, Venezuela, Iran and maybe Minnesota soon. Incredible times.
(Score: 2) by Zz9zZ on Monday November 02 2015, @09:08AM
So then why this story? I doubt our military has been sleeping on the job, especially with this level of tension we've got. Feels like stirring the pot...
~Tilting at windmills~
(Score: 3, Interesting) by Runaway1956 on Monday November 02 2015, @11:22AM
You doubt the military has been sleeping on the job - but I know it has been. I've stood watch, staring at a radar screen. On a carrier, CIC is a huge place, and there aren't two or three people watching those screens - there are a dozen or more. At least four people should have been watching air radar screens, at any given time. So, at least four people should have known and reported that aircraft were approaching minutes before the aircraft arrived. How many minutes? I can't say precisely, since I wasn't there, but I can certainly say that period of time is greater than five minutes. SOMEONE aboard the carrier knew that those aircraft were approaching.
What's more, the destroyers and cruisers escorting the carrier knew the aircraft were inbound.
Someone was asleep. Or, some incompetent son of a bitch decided that it wasn't important. Or, some competent son of a bitch decided to stand down, and allow those aircraft to close with the carrier. Oh - talk about stirring the pot? Imagine either carrier's commanding officer, or the task force commander ordering everyone to just ignore the radar reports, and allow potentially hostile aircraft to overfly the carrier. What does that suggest? That suggests a direct order from the Pentagon to allow this crap to happen, FOR THE PURPOSE OF STIRRING THE POT!!
So, yes, your feeling is probably on target, but you're pointing fingers at the wrong cooks.
We're gonna be able to vacation in Gaza, Cuba, Venezuela, Iran and maybe Minnesota soon. Incredible times.
(Score: 1) by DutchUncle on Monday November 02 2015, @07:01PM
Or maybe people weren't asleep, and those planes were being tracked and targeted by other weapons that nobody wants to talk about, plus whatever aircraft were already patrolling. And maybe, just maybe, Putin can tell the difference between grandstanding and starting WW3.
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Monday November 02 2015, @07:48PM
Tracking is what we did aboard destroyers. The aircraft made an "attack" run on us, and both of our guns as well as the missile launcher tracked them. They weren't just pointed up there, they were locked and loaded, and actively tracking. And, we felt rather impotent in most cases, because it was the Russian's move first. We weren't permitted to blow them out of the sky unless and until they fired a weapon.
Carriers flew intercept missions. They didn't get overflown. The Russians knew that, we knew that, and everyone lived with the facts of life. They could dog a task force for months, but if they came inside of that red line, an interceptor was right there, in front of them.
Grandstanding or whatever, it appears our guys have no balls.
We're gonna be able to vacation in Gaza, Cuba, Venezuela, Iran and maybe Minnesota soon. Incredible times.
(Score: 2) by VLM on Monday November 02 2015, @04:24PM
The Russians should have been identified and intercepted
With respect to the latter, its highly likely that telling them to F with the Russians would lead to worse outcomes than just letting them overfly. Like mid air collisions or whatever. Politically just not worth it.
Given that admirals always gear up to fight the last war, superficially they should have freaked that an overflight could have resulted in 500 pound WWII era dumb gravity bombs being dropped. However for at least a naval career or two the real threat has been supersonic anti-ship missiles and air launched torps and laser guided bombs, so an overflight no longer means as much in (current year) as it used to in 1944, so big yawn.
Overflights for spying are also irrelevant because of post 1970s or so surveillance satellites. I think the Russians have seen the flight deck of our carriers a couple times... nothing new there. In 1945 that could have been very useful spy data, but its (current year) now.
There is also the arrogance factor. Sure, overfly us... make my day. "Look how we overpower you 10:1 in legacy mid 1900s military technology, if 1945 comes back around again you are so F'ed." "why, you're going to have to shoot at least ten anti-ship missiles to destroy our entire carrier fleet, not just one" Reminds me of Cyrus the great's recon/spy troops freaking when they saw the Spartans guarding the pass of Thermopylae chilling out rather than getting anxious.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday November 02 2015, @03:26PM
Are the Russians still using fishing trawlers with lots of antennas to shadow US battle groups?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday November 02 2015, @08:52AM
If you look up the Tu-142 Bear, and skim through it you can understand a little more about the response. One could assume these aircraft were providing relay for a Russian submarine, presumably closer to the Ronald Regan. If i were a military man... I would be darn sure my spiffy newly retrofitted Nimitz class has a Submarine of the same ilk, providing another form of no-go zone below the surface.
(Score: 2) by MichaelDavidCrawford on Monday November 02 2015, @09:35AM
Back in the day I saw a photo that was snapped through the periscope of a Chinese sub that had penetrated a US carrier group to within torpedo range of a US ship.
That sub then made it back to China where that photo was blasted all over the worldwide press.
At one time it turned right up in google. Now I can't find it anywhere.
Yes I Have No Bananas. [gofundme.com]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday November 02 2015, @03:20PM
Don't worry. They do.
(Score: 1) by donkeyhotay on Monday November 02 2015, @04:07PM
All aircraft carrier battle groups have a couple of attack subs assigned to them.
(Score: 2, Informative) by donkeyhotay on Monday November 02 2015, @02:35PM
I am befuddled as to why this is even news. I was in the Navy in the early 80's, and served in a squadron aboard USS America, an aircraft carrier. When we were in the Indian Ocean, the Russians would send their Bears out every day to try to find us. Very often they did. This sort of thing happened almost every day and it was completely unremarkable. They're testing our readiness. It's all part of the great game.
(Score: 1) by pk on Tuesday November 03 2015, @04:34AM
This is only a few days old, and is just a copy paste job from CNN, but still... better late than never right?
Wait, it doesn't even have anything to do with technology!