CNO: Russian bomber incident ‘not provocative’

[unhappycamper]

Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Gary Roughead speaks during a media roundtable at the Pentagon on Feb. 12. Roughead addressed the recent incident in which two F/A-18s intercepted two Russian bombers, including one that buzzed the aircraft carrier Nimitz in the western Pacific.


CNO: Russian bomber incident ‘not provocative’
By Zachary M. Peterson - Staff writer
Posted : Tuesday Feb 12, 2008 20:29:07 EST

The Navy’s top officer said he did not find the recent flyover of a U.S carrier by two Russian bombers “provocative,” adding that the bombers were simply “stretching their wings.”

Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Gary Roughead told reporters at the Pentagon that such flyovers — first revealed by The Associated Press on Monday — were common in the past.

“This was something that was really quite common in the days of the Soviet navy,” Roughead said on Tuesday.

The AP reported that two Tupolev Tu-95MS Bear long-range bombers approached the carrier Nimitz off the coast of Japan over the weekend, and a single Bear twice flew over the carrier at the low altitude of 2,000 feet. The Nimitz launched two F/A-18 Hornets to escort the Russian aircraft when they were about 500 miles away from the ship.

Roughead said he thought the incident was an example of a Russian navy trying to re-emerge on the global scene. He cited the recent example of Russian ships exercising in the Mediterranean Sea as proof of this attempt to return to prominence on the seas.


Rest of article at: http://www.navytimes.com/news/2008/02/navy_cno_brief_080212w/

[krispos42]

1. Uh-huh, sure

Right until they drop the Russian equivelent of MOAB on the number-three catapult.

Yanno, this is the one time I'd LIKE some bluster from the Administration!