Russen zijn weer der eens bezig...

[Roman]

The UK's Royal Air Force has launched fighter jets to intercept eight Russian military planes flying in airspace patrolled by Nato, UK officials say.

Four RAF F3 Tornado aircraft were scrambled in response to the Russian action, the UK's defence ministry said.

The Russian planes - said to be long-range bombers - had earlier been followed by Norwegian F16 jets.

Russia recently revived a Cold War-era practice of flying bomber jets on long-range patrols.

A Norwegian officer, Lt Col John Inge Oegland, told the BBC the Russian Tupolev Tu-95 Bear bombers flew in international airspace from the Barents Sea to the Atlantic, before turning back.
Two Norwegian F-16s shadowed them on Thursday morning and another two went up later, he said.
There have been several similar incidents in recent months, Lt-Col Oegland added.

"Norway is following the increased Russian activity in the far north with interest," he told the BBC News website.

He said the Russian flights were not causing alarm in Norway. "Our systems are adequate", he said, when asked whether Norway was bolstering its security in the area.


[img:203:152]http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/4 ... ar203i.jpg[/img]

[Macboy]

Dit soort berichten vind ik altijd gaaf. Er gebeurt vaak veel meer dan mensen denken. Moet dan aan zo'n F16 piloot denken die dan de instructies krijgt om op te stijgen en iets "in de gaten te houden".

You never know, erg fascinerend.

Aan de andere kant natuurlijk volkomen onzin dat het überhaupt zou moeten, maar ja. Macht is alles ...

[Roman]

[img:180:180]http://static.sky.com/images/pictures/1576470.jpg[/img]

RAF Tornados have intercepted eight Russian bombers as they approached UK airspace.
The Bear Tupolev-95 planes - which can carry nuclear and Cruise missiles - were detected by Nato early this morning.

Ministry of Defence officials said four F3 fighters were scrambled from RAF Leeming in Yorkshire and RAF Waddington in Lincolnshire.

The Russian planes diverted before entering British territory.

They headed back to their base in north Russia without incident and are still thought to be in the air, with Nato tracking their progress.

Sky's Defence correspondent Geoff Meade said: "Diplomatic relations between Moscow and London haven't been great for some time and I think this is maybe a bit of sabre-rattling on behalf of the Russians.

"This is the biggest formation of Russian aircraft to be challenged in this way since the Cold War and marks a stepping up of Moscow's challenge to British defences."

He described the incident - the second of its kind in a month - as a "probing mission".

Norway twice scrambled F-16 fighters to monitor the Russian planes as they neared - but did not breach - its airspace.

As well as carrying missiles, the long-range Bear planes are used for surveillance.

Last month, two of the RAF's new Typhoon Eurofighter jets were used to intercept and turn back a single Bear over the north Atlantic.

And in July, two Russian aircraft were warned off by RAF jets as they headed towards UK airspace.

In May, two Tornado F3s were scrambled from RAF Leuchars in Scotland to intercept a Tu-95 observing the Royal Navy exercise Neptune Warrior.

[Roman]

Ook lekker trouwens...

The Russian President, Vladimir Putin, is in Indonesia to sign a deal giving his host nation a state loan of $1bn (£500m) to buy Russian arms.

Mr Putin will hold several meetings with his Indonesian counterpart, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, to strengthen military and economic co-operation.

More than 100 business leaders have travelled with Mr Putin.

Correspondents say the visit is Russia's response to growing Chinese and American competition in the region.

Indonesia's armed forces are under-equipped, following years of sanctions from the European Union and the United States.

Indonesia will use the Russian cash to plug the holes in its ageing arsenal, with a shopping list including attack helicopters, submarines and amphibious tanks.

Indonesian-Russian relations have become closer since a meeting in Moscow last December, when the leaders pledged to improve economic and military ties.

Indonesia has already bought several jets from Russia. The new deal will make Moscow its main foreign arms supplier.

Regional competition

The last time a Russian leader came to Indonesia was 50 years ago, before the break-up of the Soviet Union.

Moscow was then a key Indonesian ally and the country's main arms supplier.

Russia says it does not want to return to the past, and that its new relationship with Indonesia is not about ideology but about cementing Russia's presence in a region with growing importance.

"For us the primary objective in this region is a collective security system based on multilateralism," Russian ambassador Alexander Ivanov told the BBC.

"We are ready to enhance co-operation with all interested parties to building an equitable world order," Mr Putin added in an opinion piece in The Jakarta Post.

Indonesian Defence Minister Juwono Sudarsono told reporters that part of the plan was "to reduce our dependency on the United States".

Money is another good reason for buying from Russia, the BBC's correspondent in Jakarta, Lucy Williamson, says.

Russian hardware is cheaper than American-made models, and Indonesia is getting a loan to buy it into the bargain, she says.

Russia also will sign agreements with Indonesia to help it revamp its mining and oil industries.

[GTRene]

[img:600:450]http://www.sitomega.net/img/fotomontagg ... en_f16.jpg[/img]

[MartijnGizmo]

Allemaal Russische propaganda voor de verkiezingen volgend jaar natuurlijk, maar toch vindt iedereen het spannend.