REUTERS/Shamil Zhumatov
|
OTTAWA (Reuters) By David Ljunggren - Canadian fighter planes scrambled to intercept an approaching Russian bomber less than 24 hours before U.S. President Barack Obama’s visit to Ottawa last week, Canadian Defense Minister Peter MacKay said on Friday.
The long-range Bear bomber did not enter Canada’s Arctic airspace but the two CF-18 fighters had to order the plane to “back off”, MacKay told a news conference.
He also told reporters that Russia had not warned Canada that the flight was coming, a statement that a Russian government source in Moscow dismissed as farcical.
The Russian government source said Canada had been informed about the flight before it took off.
[...]
Canada quickly denied receiving any advance notice.
[...]
“I’m not going to stand here and accuse the Russians of having deliberately done this during the presidential visit but it was a strong coincidence, which we met with the presence, as we always do, of F-18 fighter planes … and sent a strong signal that they should back off and stay out of our air space,” MacKay said.
Found by Mister Justin.
#20, Bingo. The Tu-95 “Bear” is the only turboprop-powered strategic bomber to have entered operational service. I’d love to fly it once. I doubt the Russians were flying it on some routine “training mission.”
#19. It’s a TU-95. Find it on Wikipedia.
The Canadians simply should have shoot down the bomber and say nothing about it. Flight never happened.I’m sure the Russians would have understood. After all the Russians set the precedent when they shot down an unarmed civilian airliner a few years back.
Long live mother Russia!!
The Great Soviet Union shall rise once more.
The odds are at least 99.9% that this was Russia at the top trying to throw its weight around and scare people. It works with weaker nations forced to stand alone.
It isn’t winning them any friends.
It was a Canadian Goose, not a Russian bomber. Those things are big, eh?
Cool.
You know, coincidences can be written down as – - , as, – - – well, as coincidences.
But every “strong coincidence” is of great national concern. This should be taken up for discussion at the next meeting of the 798! Imagine–flying airplanes in international airspace. The effrontery. The danger!!!
This kind of thing goes on all the time. Nothing to worry about.
Both sides know that a few Tu-95s pose little threat. Any 1970′s era air defense system could down them with no trouble. I don’t know why they waste their time.
It’s the Artic thing…
Funny how Governments are coy about global warming (aka climate change), but go in, head first on securing large chunks of the ocean left free by receding ice.
It’s like: “there’s no warming, but we’re here first, just in case.”
#19 Bobbo: I got it first on #9…
# 31, joaoPT,
Yes, you certainly did. I missed that. We’re even since you said, “Bobbo, …”
Feeble attempt by the Conservative Government to distract people away from their contrarian economic policies.
Most people miss the point of what Russia is doing here including the media.
This is NOT about the bomber or where it was going, it what you DON’T know about that you might be concerned with.
When you want to see what a particular response from an enemy is, send in something you don’t mind loosing, stand back, monitor the response, and learn.
The good news is our folksy people in the THREE LETTER AGENCY’s get this,
but also remember, some responses, and monitoring can’t be photographed, LOL
Why not trying to think outside your little boxes you all live in?
Maybe if the Conservatives had a majority they wouldn’t have to cater at all to opposition policy.
RBG
Any reason to discriminate against Russians works for me.
Was this a first example of Biden’s prediction?
Evidently Obama’s Jedi Mind trick only works on Democrats…it does not appear getting rid of the “hated Bush” has made our enemies like us…
Evidently, they hate us for their own reasons…not those suggested by Democrats…
But now those who grossly misunderstood why our enemies hate us…are charged with protecting us…
Its not likely they (our protectors) will succeed.
#34 Doccolorado
I’m very outside the box, maybe you should think outside your world of RTS videogames…Please,.,like we need you to explain what’s going on
Look, most Americans have no idea what or where Ottawa is. Do you think the Russians do? Anyway, the “arctic airspace” they speak of is a long way from Ottawa. Obama would have been gone by the time they, a. found Ottawa, b. Found where to bomb Obama, in Ottawa and c. get him before he left.