Scrambling Fighters Is A Waste Of Resources
Enough already. That
was the message NORAD's General Gene Renuart had for Russian
military planners Monday, as he urged the increasingly belligerent
country to be more open with its plans to send Tu-95 bombers on
patrols near the US and Canada.
As ANN has reported
extensively, western countries have seen a sharp
increase in the number of "Bear" patrols in recent months... a
not-so-subtle show-of-force by the newly resurgent Russian air
force. In addition to North America, since August Bears have also
been sighted near the UK, Finland, and Guam.
In most cases, officials have scrambled fighters to intercept
the wayward Cold War-era bombers, and escort them away from
sensitive airspace -- just as was done when the nuclear-capable
aircraft were flying under the Soviet hammer-and-sickle, and not
the ostensibly democratic Russian flag.
Russian officials claim the increased flights are in response to
global security threats... and are necessary to guarantee the
country's safety.
There is nothing inherently confrontational about the flights,
Renuart says -- so far, flights near the US and Canada have not
come uncomfortably close to national borders, and flight crews on
both sides have acted professionally -- but he does take issue with
the Russians' clandestine nature in doing so.
Scrambling planes to intercept the bombers is a waste of time
and resources, he says... especially since aerial tankers often
have to be deployed to refuel fighters dispatched to intercept the
planes.
The NORAD commander asked Russia to, at the very least, file
flight plans when it sends Bears on reconnaissance missions... so
NORAD knows the planes are not hostile.
"There is increased concern any time you have an unidentified
aircraft approaching the airspace of either of the two nations,"
Renuart told Reuters. "If the Russians would file a flight plan
just to state their intent and general routing that they would be
on, that would ease one of our concerns ... Increasing the
transparency reduces tension as you're out chasing around after an
unknown aircraft."
Many Western experts believe the increase in Bear flights
represents the more assertive foreign policy of Russian President
Vladimir Putin... especially after years of neglect of that
country's armed forces.
Renuart diplomatically avoided commenting on Russia's
potentially more ominous intent in sending the planes towards the
US.
"Their air crews need training just like our air crews need
training and so the fact they're increasing training is not an
alarming thing for me," he said.