US nuclear B-52 bombers were flanked by NATO fighter jets in V-formation in a huge show of force against Vladimir Putin. “Get a cockpit view of the US Air Force B-52 Stratofortress bombers working with NATO Allies during a recent mission over Europe,” said the alliance.
It added: “The B-52s are training with Allied Air Forces during their BTF (Bomber Task Force) mission strengthening our Euro-Atlantic partnership.”
The warning to the despot came after his jets intercepted a pair of the bombers above the Baltic Sea earlier in the week, the first clash between the sides since Russia shot down an American drone.
“We have obtained cockpit views from the U.S. Air Forces B-52 Stratofortress bombers operating alongside NATO allies on a recent mission over Europe. “B-52s are training with the allied air forces on their BTF (Bomber Task Force) missions, strengthening our European-Atlantic partnership.
Italian Typhoons, Spanish F-18s, and Romanian F-16s flanked the US bomber.
The dramatic images came as Russia warned the UK of plans to potentially arm Ukraine with depleted-uranium tank rounds.
Moscow is furious about the plans.
Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov denounced them as “genocide” and warned about a nuclear showdown in a separate report.
The UK has accused the Russians of a “deliberate attempt at misinformation” about “standard components that are not related to a nuclear weapon or a nuclear-capable device.”
Around the same time, Russia’s Ministry of Defence said Tuesday that its radar had picked up two targets that were identified as U.S. Air Force B-52 bombers, state-run news agency TASS reported.
Footage taken by the Su-35 showed it flying alongside one of the two huge B-52s, and Russian nuclear bomber Tu-95 Bear was seen taking off in a show of strength.
Before the B-52s were intercepted by Putin’s jets, one photograph shows them being accompanied by Polish F-16s above the Baltic.
The Ministry said that the S-35 fighter had taken off in an attempt to stop a border breach.
The Su-35s flight was in strict compliance with international rules on airspace usage at the time of the incident on Monday, according to the ministry.
At the same time, Putin ordered the deployment of his own Tu-95MS—the only strategic, turboprop-powered bomber in the world—along with the Su-30SM and Su-35s to support the warplanes in Eastern Russia. The moves saw Putin flexing nuclear muscles, while Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida was announced as making an unexpected trip to Ukraine.
The US has several military bases in Japan, including one directly across the Sea of Japan from Russia. The Russians do not disclose the location of where Su-35s are flying, but it is known that a few are based at Kaliningrad, Russia’s enclave in the Baltic.
During the confrontation last week, the Russian Su-27 struck the propellers of an American MQ-9 Reaper UAV, forcing it to crash into the sea. The drone was shot down as it flew close to Russia-occupied Crimea and Ukraines front line. Footage from that point was released by U.S. European Command.
It shows one of Russia’s combat aircraft zooming in close to the drone, then flying over—and dropping fuel on it. Horrified U.S. service members in Germany watched a live stream of the drone while Russian jets flew around it multiple times, dropping fuel in order to damage cameras and sensors.
Senior American officials had been worrying for months that any incident above the Black Sea would result in misunderstandings and clashes.
The Russians said that after their fighters scrambled to intercept it over Crimea, the drone maneuvered dramatically and crashed in water.
Moscow denied that its fighters had come in contact with the drone, and insisted that it had not fired weapons to bring the drone down, as that would be an act of war.
The region has seen heavy military activity by NATO, and is near the front lines in the Ukraine War. The Russians have reportedly said that they won a competition to recover a UAV from 3000 feet below the Black Sea.
The takedown of the drone is part of an increasingly dangerous pattern of Russian behavior, which experts worry may spark wider conflict.
U.S. researchers at the RAND Corporation compiled a report detailing hundreds of similar incidents over recent years, which they described as “coercive signaling”.
This is intended to send a message to the USA and NATO.
