You know more than many of us on the subject. I appreciate your comments here.
"A U.S. Navy official said two Russian TU-142 “Bear” aircraft flew within a nautical mile of the Reagan, prompting it to launch four F-18 fighter jets to escort the planes away from the ship."
Say what? That doesn't make sense. 1 mile? Time to launch an intercept was at like 100 miles. WTF were they waiting for?
I'm going to assume they did in fact launch the intercept a lot sooner, and that it's more like with F-18s in the air on their heels they THEN got that close.
As a retired Navy Sailor that flew as a RADAR Operator/In-Flight Technican on E-2 Hawkeye airborne command and control aircraft...
Yes the intercept is normally MUCH farther out. Our airborne RADAR at the time had a range of 250 miles at about 25,000 feet.
I highly doubt the reporter understood what happened. The aircraft would have been intercepted well away from the ship. If the Russian's got within 1-mile and then they launched, the the CO's of the ships fucked up.
Well it'd be disturbing a lot farther away than that. But ASW planes aren't a major threat. Gotta wonder though what the 'red line' is around a carrier group. I'd think it's a lot farther out than 1 mile.
"Bears" (the Russian plane) was built originally as a bomber, even their ASW version retains air-surface and anti-ship missile capabilities.
>>>>
I did look up a few more articles to confirm the report was accurate. It is, W.W..
Here is another report:
The Ronald Reagan Carrier Strike Group and South Korean navy ships steam in formation during an exercise Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2015, in international waters to the east of the Korean Peninsula. Two Russian aircraft flew within one nautical mile at a height of 500 feet, prompting the carrier to launch four fighter jets in response. The Russian aircraft left without further incident.
NATHAN BURKE/U.S. NAVY
Russian aircraft approach USS Ronald Reagan, prompting US fighter jet scramble
The Reagan is essentially a floating airport, complete with an air traffic control center that tracks and communicates with nearby aircraft. When the carrier engages in flight operations, it institutes a carrier control zone, which extends up to 2,500 feet and within a five-mile radius, according to the Navy’s flight training instruction carrier procedures.
Navy officials did not discuss Thursday whether the carrier was engaged in flight operations when the Russian aircraft approached.
Even if we don’t have flight operations ongoing, we are still very cognizant of what is going on in the airspace, within a good distance,” Cole said.
The lack of communication by the Russian aircraft also conflicted with general aviation practice. Even commercial airports of any significant size generally expect two-way radio contact when aircraft fly as close as the Russians did, according to international aviation guidelines.
This week’s incident added to a busy day for the Navy in the Asia-Pacific region. It happened at roughly the same time that the destroyer USS Lassen sailed within a 12-nautical-mile territorial zone claimed by China around Subi Reef in the South China Sea.
The U.S. undertook the “freedom of navigation” operation because it considers those waters international, though China condemned the move as a violation of its “indisputable sovereignty.”
Otherwise they could touch off a military action which spirals out of control.
