Russian nuclear-capable bombers intercepted near West Coast in second U.S. air defense zone intrusion in two weeks

[Faith In Him]

Putin’s July 4th Message
Russian nuclear-capable bombers intercepted near West Coast in second
U.S. air defense zone intrusion in two weeks

BY: Bill Gertz - July 6, 2012 8:13 pm
Two Russian strategic nuclear bombers entered the U.S. air defense
zone near the Pacific coast on Wednesday and were met by U.S.
interceptor jets, defense officials told the Free Beacon.

It was the second time Moscow dispatched nuclear-capable bombers into
the 200-mile zone surrounding U.S. territory in the past two weeks.

An earlier intrusion by two Tu-95 Bear H bombers took place near
Alaska as part of arctic war games that a Russian military spokesman
said included simulated attacks on “enemy” air defenses and strategic
facilities.

A defense official said the Pacific coast intrusion came close to the
U.S. coast but did not enter the 12-mile area that the U.S. military
considers sovereign airspace.

The bomber flights near the Pacific and earlier flights near Alaska
appear to be signs Moscow is practicing the targeting of its long-
range air-launched cruise missiles on two strategic missile defense
sites, one at Fort Greely, Alaska and a second site at Vandenberg Air
Force Base, Calif.

In May, Russian Gen. Nikolai Makarov, the chief of the Russian General
Staff, said during a Moscow conference that because missile defense
systems are destabilizing, “A decision on pre-emptive use of the
attack weapons available will be made when the situation worsens.” The
comments highlighted Russian opposition to planned deployments of U.S.
missile defense interceptors and sensors in Europe.

The U.S. defense official called the latest Bear H incident near the
U.S. West Coast “Putin’s Fourth of July Bear greeting to Obama.”

Retired Air Force Lt. Gen. Thomas McInerney, a former Alaska commander
for the North American Aerospace Defense Command, said the latest Bear
H intrusion appears to be Russian military testing.

“It’s becoming very obvious that Putin is testing Obama and his
national security team,” McInerney told the Free Beacon. “These long-
range aviation excursions are duplicating exercises I experienced
during the height of the Cold War when I commanded the Alaska NORAD
region.

McInerney said the Bear H flights are an effort by the Russians to
challenge U.S. resolve, something he noted is “somewhat surprising as
Obama is about to make a unilateral reduction of our nuclear forces as
well as major reductions in our air defense forces.”

“Actions by Russia in Syria and Iran demonstrate that Cold War
strategy may be resurrected,” he said.

“These are not good indications of future U.S. Russian relations.”

Pentagon spokesman Capt. John Kirby said the incident occurred July 4.
He said the “out-of-area patrol by two Russian long range bombers …
entered the outer [Air Defense Identification Zone]” and the bombers
“were visually identified by NORAD fighters.”

Kirby said the bombers did not enter “sovereign airspace.” He declined
to identify the specific distance the aircraft flew from the United
States due to operational security concerns. He also declined to
identify the types of aircraft used to intercept the bombers.

In last month’s intercept of two Russian Tu-95 bombers, U.S. F-15s and
Canadian CF-18s were used. The most likely aircraft used in
Wednesday’s intercept were U.S. F-15 jets based at Elmendorf Air Force
Base, Alaska.

Kirby and U.S. Northern Command spokesmen, apparently in line with the
Obama administration’s conciliatory reset policy toward Russia, sought
to play down both bomber intrusions.

The Pentagon spokesman said the latest Pacific intrusion was “assessed
as another training activity.”

Rather than using traditional military terminology common during the
Cold War to describe the meeting of the violating bombers as an
“intercept,” Kirby said that the bombers were “visually identified” by
jets described only as joint U.S.-Canadian North American Aerospace
Defense Command (NORAD) jets.

“NORAD is postured to ensure air warning and control for the
continental United States, Canada, and Alaska,” Kirby said. “NORAD
maintains an extensive radar system around North America and has
aircraft located throughout the United States and Canada that can
respond quickly to any unidentified flights approaching the Air
Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ).”

Kirby said the ADIZ extends about 200 miles from the coast and is
“mainly within international airspace.”

“The outer limits of the ADIZ goes well beyond U.S. sovereign air
space which only extends 12 nautical miles from land,” he said. “As
part of its mission,