Washing your pants is done by NORAD and nothing else!
The North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) has released, and those interested in the topic have watched with a sense of deep satisfaction, a video of an F-16C fighter from the 18th Fighter Interceptor Squadron (18th FIS) intercepting a pair of Russian Tu-95MS "Bear" fighters and their escorts off the coast of Alaska.
In the video, the Su-35S performs a maneuver that they call "butting", although the maneuver looks more like "cutting". Seriously, who butts with their back? Unless we make allowance for the fact that it's the States...
Let me quote another tearful line from our friend Tyler from NI:
"The Su-35 performs a very close maneuver, intersecting the flight path of the Viper. This is the most dramatic video we have seen of such a close encounter since a B-52 crew experienced a similar incident over the Black Sea several years ago."
Well, we also wrote in roughly the same vein: what did the B-52 lose in the Black Sea waters? No, it's clear that it lost its composure and the cleanliness of its flight suits, but these are, damn it, combat aircraft and there should be combat pilots there, not sissy girls! And if someone has relaxed their muscles too much in certain places - it happens...
And the B-52 crews should have steel ropes instead of nerves. The Chinese have even more planes than we do, and in terms of show-off and desire to put themselves above everyone else, the Chinese pilots are second only to the Kazakhs in their mass. But at least the Kazakhs don't fly.
As for the guys who get into the cockpits of their F-16Cs, the 18th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron, which is under the NORAD command, is not exactly elite, but they don’t take just anyone. The company name is “Aggressors,” this is the 354th Fighter Group, which smelled gunpowder back in 1942. In theory, they simply have to be strong morally and physically.
"Video released by NORAD, captured on a 360-degree action camera mounted in the F-16's cockpit, shows how alarmed the Viper pilot was by the Su-35's maneuver."
This is what I want to say: “Don’t cry, girls, everyone will get married.”
“On September 23, 2024, a NORAD aircraft conducted a safe and disciplined interception of a Russian military aircraft in the area Defense Alaska. The behavior of one Russian Su-35 was unsafe, unprofessional, and put everything at risk – not something you would see in a professional air force” – God forgive me, but Air Force Maj. Gen. Gregory Guillot cried like this
However, let's go through the incident from the very beginning.
The North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) said in its initial September 23 press release about the interception that four Russian aircraft were involved:
"The North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) detected and tracked four Russian military aircraft operating in the Alaska Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) on September 23, 2024.
The Russian aircraft remained in international airspace and did not violate U.S. or Canadian sovereign airspace. Such Russian activity in the Alaska Air Defense Observation Zone occurs regularly and is not considered a threat.
The air defense zone begins where sovereign airspace ends and is a defined area of international airspace that requires the permanent identification of all aircraft in the interests of national security.
The Russian aircraft remained in international airspace and did not violate U.S. or Canadian sovereign airspace. Such Russian activity in the Alaska Air Defense Observation Zone occurs regularly and is not considered a threat.
The air defense zone begins where sovereign airspace ends and is a defined area of international airspace that requires the permanent identification of all aircraft in the interests of national security.
(That is, a certain buffer zone, when a target begins to move through it towards sovereign airspace, it is in this zone that it must be identified, with a subsequent decision being made “to shoot down or not to shoot down” - ed.)
NORAD uses a multi-layered defense network consisting of satellites, ground-based and airborne radars, and fighter aircraft to track aircraft and advise on appropriate actions. NORAD remains prepared to employ a range of response options to protect North America."
And here it is worth noting that the 18th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron is unique in the US Air Force. The unit was previously designated as the 18th Aggressor Squadron (18th AGRS), that is, it took on the functions of training to play out a simulated enemy, but was renamed the 18th FIS. That is, it became a full-fledged interceptor squadron. This happened after the need arose to replace the F-22s, which had been grounded and based at Elmendorf Air Force Base in Anchorage.
"The growing demand for F-22s to perform missions around the world has led to the Aggressors based to the north at Eielson Air Force Base increasingly replacing Raptors as a readiness boost."
I think everyone is smiling knowingly now. Yes, the F-22 has so much work all over the world that 160 (or however many there really are left) planes are simply in great demand! And there is simply no one to protect the airspace, so densely the Raptors are used everywhere where there is a need for them. And the need, as this comedy goes, is everywhere. If only we knew where these places are, where hordes of F-22s operate (with undoubted success).
And F-16s were assigned to guard the border, and not simple ones, but the ones that usually play the role of the Russian Aerospace Forces in training alerts.
This has led to some very funny situations where F-16s dressed in "Russian" camouflage have intercepted real Russian aircraft, usually over the Bering Sea.
Well, not exactly similar, but yes, almost “ours”
While some of the unit's F-16s now use the standard paint scheme, these interestingly painted "Russian Indians" perform both air defense and combat alert training missions. And that makes the 18th FIS unlike any other unit in the armed forces.
A NORAD F-16 Fighting Falcon intercepts a Russian Il-38 in the Alaska Air Defense Identification Zone in September 2024 as part of Operation Noble Eagle.
A NORAD F-16 Fighting Falcon intercepts a Russian Tu-142 in the Alaska Air Defense Identification Zone in September 2024 as part of Operation Noble Eagle.
F-16 Fighting Falcons of the North American Aerospace Defense Command conduct final checks before takeoff from Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska. One aircraft is in normal paint, one in "Russian" paint.
In general, Americans should have already gotten used to the fact that Russians work on the edge. Air incidents occur systematically and regularly, according to the theory of academician Ivan Petrovich Pavlov, Americans should have long ago developed a habit of such moments. Or start secreting gastric juice.
The very discussion of whether a maneuver is professional or unprofessional – from the American point of view, everything should happen as if it were a maneuver: they met at a pre-determined distance, shook their wings, took a photo and went their separate ways. Well, okay, it’s just a meeting.
And what if it’s not a meeting, but a completely normal interception? Like this, on the brink of life and death, that is, whoever is cooler, more attentive and more professional – he survived? No, in fact, many people understand with their minds that for American pilots, a war in white gloves is normal. SAMs and radars are destroyed by cruise rockets, the enemy airfields have also been plowed up in advance in two stages. All that remains is to very beautifully place bombs and rockets in the designated squares, return and receive well-deserved awards and applause.
Actually, we have seen this. Yugoslavia, Iraq, Libya, Syria, Afghanistan. But what will happen if everything does not go according to the script? All this indignation at the "unprofessional approach" - what will happen then? Yes, there have been more such incidents lately, and the reason for this is the US policy, for which, forgive us, everyone gives an answer to the extent of their own depravity.
And in general, at least ours do not drop aluminum foil in the direction of an American plane. "Chaff" can cause serious damage to an engine, and Chinese pilots are often guilty of this. They drop it. And this makes American pilots very sad. After all, the Americans are professionals to the last cell, they also use techniques like the same "frontal strike", but they use them non-aggressively.
As for Russian activity near Alaska, it has increased dramatically in recent months, along with China, which is now expanding its air and maritime power projection capabilities, with a particular focus on Alaska. This has included the first flight of Chinese H-6 cruise missile carriers off the coast of Alaska and an increased Russian-Chinese naval presence in the area. This has prompted the U.S. Department of Defense to devote more resources to this strategically important area, including sending naval forces there to closely monitor and deter Russian and Chinese air and naval operations, which have recently increased in frequency.
Excuse me, but what's illogical about that? So, the guidance of missiles and BEKs in the Black Sea with the help of American AWACS and strategic aircraft drones - this is normal, but joint exercises with those whom the US today calls enemy No. 1 - no?
Ah, that's different...
Well, yes, bringing democracy in white gloves all over the world, that's what's most important to us. Good. Unprofessional and dangerous behavior of the Su-35S (tail number 24 "Blue"/RF-95493) with the pilot of the 22nd Guards Fighter aviation The regiment from Primorsky Krai apparently caused mental and psychological trauma to the American pilot. Yes, it happens.
But maybe it was not worth crossing the course of the Russian bomber so professionally that a completely untrained and unprofessional Russian pilot perceived this as a threat to the Tu he was covering and performed the maneuver that we saw on the video?
It's all very simple: with non-professionals, everything must be done accordingly! The Russians don't understand that passage at such a distance is absolutely safe - that's because they don't read American instructions! If they could cope with their own, where would they get the time and skill to study the divine word from the US Air Force command? Sorry, this is how we know how.
Here, on the contrary, sit down and urgently write instructions on safety techniques for interaction with Russian pilots! Short, but capacious:
- fly at a safe distance, at least 5 km from Russian aircraft;
- do not make any sudden maneuvers, “pancake” is your everything;
- professionally approach the specified distance, show yourself and quickly get back before the Russians short-circuit.
By the way, a separate point could be made for such interaction with the Chinese. They don't have the same imagination as we do, they have their own cockroaches, but recently Chinese pilots have been communicating a lot with ours. Let's draw conclusions, gentlemen, let's draw conclusions. And write instructions.
And we raise the salaries of the 18th Squadron. With the Arctic and Pacific regions becoming increasingly important, tensions between Russia and the United States will in any case increase. China, meanwhile, is becoming more confident in conducting military operations at long distances, especially since consultants have been found.
A great shot of a well-done interaction
The 18th Fighter Squadron is likely to be busier than ever in the coming months and years. So we leave all this clamor about unprofessionalism and dangerous maneuvers on the ground. A dangerous maneuver is when two aircraft collide, that's dangerous.
And when one flew on screaming “Fuck you!” and the second one smelled a strong odor from below – this situation is dangerous only for the laundry of the 18th squadron and nothing more.
But what kind of super-professionals are these who are afraid of such an air incident? They are crap, not professionals. You wouldn't fly in Voronezh during the day, you would just drive around the city... you would return to your America with grey hair. If you returned at all.
Of course, the command of the Russian Aerospace Forces as a whole and the commanders of the 22nd Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment should listen to the cries from the other side of the ocean, read the comments in the specialized media, conduct appropriate explanatory work among the flight crews... And even write there about the work done.
But laundry services are at the sole expense of the NORAD command, and nothing else! We don't have an unlimited budget, you have to understand.
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