Russian Bomber Flights Draw NORAD Concern

The increasing frequency at which Russian strategic bombers are approaching U.S. airspace has led military commanders at the North American Aerospace Defense Command to urge Moscow to provide advance warning of the flights, the Denver Post reported today (see GSN, Feb. 29).

In 2007, NORAD dispatched fighter jets to intercept Russian bombers in 46 separate incidents, a significant increase from prior years to levels not seen since the end of the Cold War.

The run-ins are unlikely to escalate, but “there’s more of a risk of something accidental happening,” Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Adm. Mike Mullen said yesterday, following a meeting with commanders responsible for defending U.S. territory.

Russia has been increasing its bomber flights over the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, in one instance last month buzzing the U.S. aircraft carrier Nimitz (see GSN, Feb. 12).  The flights have been seen as Russia’s effort to reassert its military strength.

“We will clearly watch this evolution,” Mullen said of the Russian flights.  “We’ve got good military-to-military relations with the Russians.  My sense is there's no strategic intent to threaten the United States.”

The Russian bombers might be carrying nuclear weapons, although no such armaments are visible on the aircraft, NORAD commanders warned.

Russian officials have dismissed U.S. calls for transparency over the flights, NORAD commander Gen. Victor Renuart said.

“The Russian approach today is that these are military-training flights in unmonitored airspace and that they are within their rights to fly without an international flight plan.  While that is at a basic level correct, the potential risk to commercial aviation makes it tougher” to accept, Renuart said (Bruce Finley, Denver Post, March 11).

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