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.

FMI: www.nato.mil