https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zon...ront-of-a-b-52
This unsafe intercept is the latest evidence of a concerning escalation in Cold
War-like posturing between the U.S. and Russia in recent days.
The Pentagon has released what is possibly the most troubling video we have seen
of a so-called 'unsafe intercept' between one of its aircraft and Russian
fighters. The incident occurred on August 28th, 2020, when the U.S. Air Force
sent six B-52s, four of which are forward deployed to RAF Fairford in the United
Kingdom, to traverse every NATO member country's airspace in a show of strength
and solidarity for the alliance. This included flights over Eastern Europe and
the tense Black Sea region, where the intercept took place. You can read all
about this highly unique large-scale bomber mission in this recent War Zone
piece.
The maneuver the Su-27s executed is sometimes referred to as a 'head-butt' and
it has the potential to be extremely dangerous depending on how it is performed.
Regardless, it's never welcome. In the video, can see the Su-27 pull up close to
the B-52's left-wing before pulling forward, up, and crossing in front of and
above the bomber's forward path. It's easy to miss, but another clip towards the
end of the video shows a Su-27 doing a similar maneuver, but directly in front
of the nose of the B-52 at incredibly close range. To call the maneuver
dangerous or unprofessional would be an understatement.
The Pentagon states:
At approximately 11:19 a.m. on Aug. 28, 2020, two Russian Su-27 Flanker pilots
intercepted a U.S. Air Force B-52 bomber that was conducting routine operations
in the black sea over international waters. The Russian pilots flew in an unsafe
and unprofessional manner while crossing within 100 feet of the nose of the B-52
multiple times at co-altitude and while in afterburner causing turbulence and
restricting the B-52’s ability to maneuver.
The B-52 Stratofortress aircraft was conducting routine operations in
international airspace exercising our freedom of navigation and overflight. The
U.S. Air Force routinely operates aircraft in the region in accordance with
recognized international safety standards as prescribed in International Civil
Aviation Organization (ICAO) rules of flight.
The Su-27s seen in the video likely originated out of Crimea. A contingent of
Flankers is tasked with a standing alert to intercept NATO aircraft venturing
east over the Black Sea from Russia's primary airbase there. B-52s and B-1Bs
have been active in the area in recent months, including practicing launching
cruise missile strikes, an act that Moscow is clearly not pleased with.
We constantly hear of unsafe intercepts between U.S., Russian, and Chinese
aircraft, but rarely have we seen such remarkable footage that highlights
exactly what went on. In fact, the lack of good video evidence has been an issue
in the past. Considering that the B-52 crew was ready and waiting with a video
camera in the cockpit shows that this is now changing.
This incident is yet another sign that we are barreling into a timeframe of
peculiarly strong posturing on both sides. You can read a summary of these
recent events here.
We will update this post as more information comes available.
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