Russian Su-27 "Photobombed" In Dramatic Intercept Of US Bombers Over Baltic Sea

One month after the US intercepted Russian tactical bombers flying in proximity to Alaska on several occasions, and just four days after Russia returned the favor earlier this week when a Russian Su-27 was scrambled to "accompany" a US B-52 bomber flying over the Baltic Sea, on June 9 a Russian fighter jet was "photobombed" in a series of dramatic photos while intercepting a group of US warplanes over the Baltic Sea during annual military drills over the Baltic Sea, the US Department of Defense said.

Several still photos released by the Defense Department"s DVIDS show a Russian Su-27 intercepting a U.S. Air Force B-52H, 2nd Bomb Wing. Another DVIDS photo captures the Russian plane intercepting a formation of U.S. Air Force aircraft, including two B-1B Lancers, a KC-135R Stratotanker and B-52H Stratofortress

#Photobomb! A #Russian Su-27 Flanker got into our shot ???? during a #BALTOPS sortie over the #BalticSea today. The intercept was deemed safe. pic.twitter.com/SMwGfE2QYr

— U.S. Dept of Defense (@DeptofDefense) June 9, 2017

The US Department of Defense released photo footage showing the Russian jet flying alongside American warplanes, conducting an intercept which US officials said was carried out safely.

A picture I took of a Russian "flanker" fighter on the tail of a @usairforce B-52 bomber over the Baltic Sea today—I was onboard a KC-135 pic.twitter.com/pGbawrCM30

— Nolan Peterson (@nolanwpeterson) June 9, 2017

Another pic I took—A Russian Su-27 fighter merges to intercept 2 @usairforce B1 bombers over the Baltic Sea on June 9 pic.twitter.com/U9AdcvVwzG

— Nolan Peterson (@nolanwpeterson) June 9, 2017

Pentagon spokesman Capt. Jeff Davis said the intercept was considered "safe and professional."  There was media on board the refueler so there is expected to be video of the intercept.

On Friday, airmen from the active Air Force’s 509th Bomb Wing and the Missouri Air National Guard’s 131st Bomb Wing helped bring two B-2 Spirit bombers to RAF Fairford in the United Kingdom. The unique stealth bombers joined B-1 Bones and B-52 Stratofortresses already at the Royal Air Force base, bringing the trio to the same place for only the second time since the creation of Air Force Global Strike Command in 2009. In August 2016, B-2s made a similar surprise appearance at Andersen Air Force Base on Guam after B-1s and B-52s had already touched down on the island outpost.

What is also unique about the "photobomb" is that as the Drive notes, this is the first example of all three of the U.S. Air Force’s heavy bombers in Europe for the first time since at least 2009.

 Whether the United States intends for the unusual deployment to be a message to Russia or not, the Kremlin has already taken a keen interest in all the activity.

The B-1s and B-52s are in Europe for the annual Baltic Operations (BALTOPS) and Saber Strike exercises. BALTOPS focuses on scenarios in and around the increasingly tense Baltic Sea, while Saber Strike is primarily a ground exercise that spans the Baltic States of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, as well as having outstations in Poland and Germany. The Pentagon has not publicly tasked the B-2s with any particular mission beyond reassuring America"s NATO allies and general deterrence.

According to NATO, the BALTOPS exercise takes place from June 7-17, during which time Marines from the US and partner nations "integrate to practice expeditionary, ship-to-shore assaults to enhance their capability to work together as a combined amphibious force." Along with the multinational amphibious force. the exercise will involve 5,600 troops from air, sea and ground forces across 12 NATO countries (Belgium, Denmark, Estonia, France, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, the US and the UK) as well as Finland and Sweden.

For BALTOPS and Saber Strike, a variety of other U.S. fighter jets, aerial refueling tankers, and other aircraft from various allied units are taking part, as well. On June 9, 2017, a number of them had gotten together for a photo shoot for the press over the Baltic when a Russian Su-27 Flanker arrived on the scene. The jet, possibly flying from the naval air station in Chkalovsk, Kaliningrad, intercepted the aircraft as they flew in a neat formation through international air space. In addition to the Pentagon"s own photographers, journalists quickly snapped shots of the new arrival and spread them across social media.

Multiple Russian Jets Buzz US Destroyer In "Unsafe" Encounter

First, a Russian spy ship spotted off the US East Coast. Then Russia being accused of deploying a banned ground-launched ballistic missile.

Now, in the latest escalation in military tensions between the two nations which were supposed to be mending frayed diplomatic relations, Reuters reports that multiple Russian military aircraft came close to U.S. Navy destroyer USS Porter (located in close proximity to Russia in the Black Sea) on Feb. 10, incidents considered "unsafe and unprofessional," a U.S. official said on Tuesday.

Guided-missile destroyer USS Porter sails in the Bosphorus, on its way to the
Mediterranean Sea, in Istanbul, Turkey, February 11, 2017.

"There were several incidents involving multiple Russian aircraft," said Navy Capt. Danny Hernandez, spokesman for the European Command. "They were assessed by the commanding officer as unsafe and unprofessional."

The first buzzing involved two Russian Su-24 jet fighters followed by a single Su-24 and, in a third incident, an IL-38 transport aircraft. The passes were described by Hernandez, the Eucom spokesman, as ranging from unusually low altitude to low altitude and high speed.

"These incidents are always concerning because they could result in miscalculation or accident," he said.

According to the Free Beacon, the Russian aircraft operated without their electronic identifying transponders activated. Transponders on aircraft are monitored closely by air defense officers charged with protecting the ship and identifying hostile and friendly aircraft on radar. The Russian aircraft also failed to respond to several radio requests from the Porter to halt the overflights.

Surprisingly, Russia denied the close encounter had ever occured. "There were no incidents of any kind on Feb. 10, related to flights by Russian military jets in the Black Sea near the U.S. Navy destroyer Porter," Russian news agencies cited a spokesman for the Russian Defense Ministry, Major-General Igor Konashenkov, as saying.

"USS Porter queried all aircraft and received no response," Hernandez said. "Such incidents are concerning because they can result in accident or miscalculation," he added. The incidents involving the Su-24 were considered to be unsafe and unprofessional by the commanding officer of the Porter because of their high speed and low altitude, while the IL-38 flew at an unusually low altitude, Hernandez said.

Another U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the lone Su-24 came within 200 yards (meters) of the Porter at an altitude of 300 feet (90 meters).

The most recent such "unsafe" close encounter took place in April 2016 when two Russian warplanes flew simulated attack passes near a U.S. guided missile destroyer in the Baltic Sea so close that they created wake in the water.

The one common thread between all these incidents is that US ships were engaged in close proximity to Russia, either the Black Sea or the Baltic - not, say, the Gulf of Mexico - which may explain why Russia is not hardly eager to put up with US presence in the region, especially at a time when NATO continues to pile up forces along Russia"s land border in Eastern Europe.

US F-16 Photographed In Mock Dogfight With Russian Su-27 Above Area 51

A curious sight was observed in the skies above Area 51 in Nevada, on November 8, the day Donald Trump was elected President, by vacationing air traffic controller Phil Drake. According to Drake, the photographs below all taken by him, show a Russian-built Su-27P fighter jet taking on a US Air Force F-16 engaged in a mock dogfight training mission.

The moment a US F-16 was caught in a mock dogfight with a Russian SU-27 fighter

Drake, a 42-year-old enthusiast from Hampshire in the UK, told the Mail he was visiting the desert surrounding Area 51 on the day of the Presidential election, and hoped to see some fast jets involved in a training mission. Instead, what he photographed appears to have been Russian Su-27 involved in a combat training with a US fighter jet.

Drake said the Russian jet was a Su-27P Flanker-B, which has never been officially imported into the United States.

Drake said the aircraft was a Russian SU-27P Flanker-B with Soviet style camouflague

The jets performed a series of high-speed passes during an intense training mission

"This aircraft was anonymous and unidentifiable, apart from the Soviet style camouflage it wore," he said. "After they finished their mission they flew into Groom Lake"s highly restricted airspace." Shooting from Tikaboo Valley, near Groom Lake (Area 51"s official name), Drake had to push his camera zoom to the limit to document the incident.

Drake"s location outside Area 51

He said: "The planes were operating above 20,000 feet, and a couple of miles east of me, so the distance between me and the planes was at least six miles. They were literally specks in the sky, but of course that"s the reason that no-one has photographed them before.

Drake believes these are the first pictures of a single-seat Sukhoi Su27 Flanker - on a training mission or otherwise - inside the United States.

"Initially, during the mission, the aircraft were just outside of Area 51 airspace.

"The Americans practice air to air combat with Russian aircraft to give them an advantage in combat. They also try out new weapons systems on aircraft to test their effectiveness against a bona fide Russian-built target."

According to Drake, "the Flanker is rumoured to have been flying from Groom Lake for nearly 20 years, but no-one has ever managed a definitive photograph to prove it does exist. This sequence of photos is the first proof that the Americans are flying this aircraft, which is the premier Air Defence Fighter in use with the Russian and Chinese Air Forces."

He continued: "Things went quiet around 1300. Very quiet. Nothing moved for two hours and I was thinking of moving to another vantage point, such as Queen City Summit, or maybe the Powerlines Overlook. Then the sound of jet noise caught my attention and that"s when I got my first sight of a Groom Lake Su-27 Flanker."

"Flying NE at around 30,000 feet leaving an intermittent contrail. The time was 1500 and the sun was moving to the west as the Flanker and a F-16 gave me a private 25 minute air display. The pair seemed to perform a series of head on intercepts at descending altitudes from 30,000 feet to around 20,000 feet, only a mile or two to the east of me. This meant they were beautifully illuminated by the afternoon sun. After the head on intercept, the pair would break into a turning dogfight, with the Flanker using it tremendous maneuverability to try and get behind the F-16. "

"I took a long series of photographs, but as the aircraft were fairly high my autofocus couldn"t cope. I had to shoot in manual mode, constantly moving the focusing ring to attempt to get some reasonable images. The Su-27 was clearly a single seater, a Su-27P Flanker-B."

"This Flanker was in the classic 1990"s two-tone blue colour scheme, with white nose and white fin tips. A very different aeroplane. There had been rumours that the US had obtained two single seat Flankers from Belarus in 1996 or 1997, so I figured it should have been one of them."

"After the final dogfight, when I was lucky enough to catch on camera the F-16 flashing directly in front of the Flanker, the pair climbed back to 30,000 feet or so, and headed SW back into Groom Lake restricted airspace. Interestingly the Flanker left a solid contrail, while the F-16 left none despite being at a similar altitude."

* * *

There has been no official statement from either the US Air Force, the Dept of Defense or Dept of Energy, on these curious, perhaps historic, photographs emanating from one of the most secretive US army bases in the world.