NATO increases missions to collect electromagnetic intelligence on the outskirts of Russia
On September 4, the Russian National Defense Control Center reported that three US B-52H Stratofortress bombers had been detected near Russia as they flew over Ukraine. Also, eight fighter planes [4 Su-27 and 4 Su-30] from the southern military district took off to "intercept" US Air Force aircraft "over the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov. , in order to prevent their incursion into Russian airspace, ”he said.
To support the action of the Su-27 and Su-30, the Russian air force reportedly sent one of their five Tu-214SRs, an aircraft serving as a communications relay, to the Black Sea.
Later, the US Military Command for Europe [US EUCOM] confirmed that three of the six B-52H Stratofortresses deployed by the US Air Force to Fairford [UK] since mid-August had indeed completed a mission in Ukraine, explaining that the aim was to "provide valuable training" to the Ukrainian air force, which accompanied at least two of the three bombers by MiG-29 and Su-27 planes. And to ensure that such flights demonstrate the "collective defense capabilities" of NATO and its partners in order to "deter" Russia.
This mission was planned "to ensure interoperability between NATO and partner countries. It is likely that such cooperation in the field of collective security will continue, ”the Ukrainian defense ministry said.
It had been 26 years since a B-52H Stratofortress had flown over Ukraine, that is, since the fiftieth anniversary of Operation "Frantic", during which American bombers based in the United Kingdom had joined the Soviet base in Poltava. [Ukraine] after missions over Germany.
Anyway, the US EUCOM press release did not deliver the essentials… The mission of the B-52H [indicative Julia 51 and Julia 53] could be followed thanks to the data transmitted in real time by their transponders. At least for two of them, that of the third [Julia 52] having, a priori, not been turned on.
This is how at least two B-52Hs are known to have crossed the Netherlands, Germany and Poland and then overhead Ukraine, as far as the Crimea. According to Moscow, they approached 25 km from the Russian border.
However, at the same time, and according to sites specializing in air traffic monitoring, several electronic intelligence planes - American and British - were flying over the Black Sea, including an RC-135 V / W "Rivet Joint" from the US Air Force, a P-8A Poseidon from the US Navy as well as a Sentinel R1 and an AirSeeker [British version of the "Rivet Joint", note] of the Royal Air Force.
This significant presence of aircraft specializing in the collection of electromagnetic intelligence has not, it seems, been the subject of any communication by the Russian authorities. It is possible that, having turned off their transponder, other specialized devices were also in the same area.
As a reminder, the RC-135 Rivet Joint is capable of intercepting radio communications as well as signals emitted by opposing radars, which they can eventually jam.
Either way, the profile of the US bomber mission to Ukraine was identical to that carried out last week on Exercise Allied Sky. On August 28, while a B-52H Stratofortress was being “shaken” by a pair of Russian Su-27s over the Black Sea, two US Air Force RC-135 V / Ws were in flight. In the region. In that of the Baltic, the same day, another B-52H as well as three intelligence planes [an American RC-135, a Danish Challenger CL-604 and a Swedish Gulfstream S-102] had also been intercepted by the air force. Russian.
Obviously, NATO has intensified its electronic intelligence gathering missions in the Black Sea and in the vicinity of the Kaliningrad enclave, where Russian forces have established "protection bubbles" by deploying interdiction and control capabilities. denial of access [AD / A2].
Thus, on August 14, an American RC-135 and P-8A Poseidon were intercepted over the Black Sea. Two days later, an Atlantique 2, a French maritime patrol plane, which the Russian staff mistook for an Italian Bréguet Atlantic [which are no longer in service, note], was also intercepted by a Su-27SM in black Sea.
On August 19, an American RC-135 and P-8A Poseidon were again spotted in the Black Sea. As well as a second RC-135, this time in the vicinity of Kaliningrad. Finally, the next day, a Russian Su-30 SM identified a French Atlantique 2 and a British Sentinel R1.
“The flight of the Russian fighter Su-30SM took place in strict accordance with international rules for the use of airspace. The French and British planes did not violate the Russian state border, "the Russian National Defense Control Center was careful to point out.
The ability to counter AD / A2 means such as those deployed by Russia in Crimea [for the Black Sea] and in Kaliningrad [for the Baltic Sea] is fundamental to maintain a certain freedom of action in the "third dimension". which is a prerequisite for any military operation. Hence the interest of these NATO missions.
From
http://www.opex360.com/2020/09/05/lotan-multiplie-les-missions-pour-collecter-des-renseignements-electro-magnetiques-aux-abords-de-la-russie/What really is behind Russia's A2 / AD no-fly zones
By Valentin Vasilescu (Aviation pilot, former deputy commander of military forces at Otopeni Airport, graduated in military science at the Academy of Military Studies in Bucharest 1992)
A surprise ground invasion by NATO forces does not frighten Russia. She has enough fighting means to counter her from the start. Its only vulnerability lies in its advanced bastions in the Black Sea and the Baltic Sea: Crimea and Kaliningrad.
Russia has created no-fly zones around Crimea and the Kaliningrad enclave, "an A2 / AD bubble", which prevents NATO from entering its airspace. Until now, preventing an aircraft (airplane or cruise missile) from hitting a target on the ground has been done by detecting and destroying it. Interceptors, missiles and AA artillery are used for this purpose. NATO experts noted the complexity of the A2 / AD's AA defense system, which is layered, with high asset density, all integrated into Polyana D4M1-type automated management systems.
But that is only the tip of the iceberg. In the arsenal of its A2 / AD no-fly zones, Russia has also introduced several new categories of systems, with maximum efficiency (in combat and securing in combat) that NATO cannot counter. The category concerning combat security includes Russian jamming equipment 1RL257 Krasukha-4 and R-330ZH Zhitel which creates an "invisibility shield" of the most important elements of defense. These systems only act against fire detection and guidance systems from aerial means. They destroy the guidance systems of enemy cruise missiles, attack aircraft and intelligent munitions launched by the enemy. For example, jamming affects things like:
1 - radars on attack aircraft and missiles.
2 - data transmission lines from airplanes and cruise missiles.
3 - GPS positioning receivers on airplanes, cruise missiles and bombs launched by airplanes.
4 - infrared sensors and laser guidance frequencies of missiles and bombs launched by airplanes.
If the US military at Iraq's Ain al-Assad air base had similar jamming systems to Russia's, none of Iran's ballistic missiles would have hit their target.
However, this "invisibility shield" cannot prevent a sea landing operation led by the US naval fleet, the most powerful in the world. To eliminate this vulnerability, the second new type of system, on which Russia's A2 / AD no-fly zones are based, has hypersonic missiles. Only Russia has such means which cannot be intercepted by an anti-ballistic shield or an anti-aircraft system of the United States. Therefore, the Russian A2 / AD not only limits itself to defending the area of vulnerability, but greatly expands the battlefield against sea invasion, bringing the fighting to where the US Navy cannot and cannot defend itself, nor retaliate.
Russia has two types of hypersonic missiles. The Kh-47M2 Kinzhal, already operational, has a range of 2000-3000 km (against 1300-1700 km, the range of the cruise missile BGM-109 Tomahawk, or 900 km, range of the aircraft F / A-18). Kinzhal has a speed of Mach 10 (14,700 km / h), flies at an altitude of 19 km, and is launched from MiG-31 and Tu-22M aircraft. The 3M22 Zirkon, which is in advanced testing, has a range of 1000 km, flies at a cruising altitude of 40 km, at a speed of Mach 8-9 (9800-11000 km / h) and has the capacity to '' perform lateral and altitude maneuvers (horizontal and vertical). It is primarily intended to equip the small surface ships (patrol vessels, corvettes, frigates) of the Baltic and Black Sea fleet. The range of Russian hypersonic missiles is greater than that of airplanes on American aircraft carriers and cruise missiles. Their on-board equipment must allow them to guide themselves at the end of their trajectory for a precise impact on moving surface vessels. The probability of breaking through the AA defense is absolute (100%). That’s why the hypersonic missile’s mission is to sink an invading US naval group of 50 to 70 combat units within 5 to 10 minutes before it can launch its planes and cruise missiles.
From a chronological point of view, for Russia, the need to create zones of air and naval interdiction appeared with the Euromaidan of Kiev, one of the objectives pursued by the United States, being to replace the ships of the Russian fleet in the Black Sea by those of the 6th Fleet of the United States in the naval bases of Crimea. Arguably Washington's decision to increase pressure on Russia was a very bad decision, with the opposite effect than expected. Because the United States has forced Russia to radically change the principles of engagement in combat, creating new systems for which the United States has no antidote. The United States did not anticipate that Russia could mount the hypersonic Zirkon missile in a launch container on a commercial ship in the Mediterranean or the North Sea. This would allow US aircraft carriers to sink before they enter the Black Sea or the Baltic Sea.
From :
https://reseauinternational.net/ce-quil-y-a-veritablement-derriere-les-zones-dinterdiction-aerienne-a2-ad-de-la-russie/
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