Wednesday, February 8, 2012

Two Russian Bombers Surveying Japan

I don't have any other information on this yet, but this is what appeared in Japan's TBS News (10:38PM 2/8/2012):

防衛省はロシアの爆撃機2機が日本の領空周辺を飛行したと発表しました。

The Ministry of Defense announced that two Russian bombers flew the perimeter of Japan's airspace.

 爆撃機はTU-95型2機で、8日午前9時ごろから午後9時ごろまで島根県沖の日本海側から北上した後、北方領土の上空を通過し、太平洋の房総半島沖まで繰り返し飛行しました。

The two bombers were TU-95. From 9AM to 9PM on February 8, they flew north from off the coast of Shimane Prefecture on the Japan Sea side, past the Northern Territories (the Kurile Islands) and down to Boso Peninsula on the Pacific Ocean; they repeated the pattern a number of times.

 航空自衛隊では西部、中部、北部の航空方面隊で戦闘機を緊急発進させて対応したとしています。

The Air Self Defense Force responded by scrambling its fighter aircrafts in the western, central, and northern air defense forces.

That covers about 70% of Japan. It looks as if they were testing the response. Is the Cold War back on again?

15 comments:

STeVe the JeW said...

probably a sampling mission.

Anonymous said...

When was the last time a foreign country flew the parimeter of Japan?..Was it right after the three reactors had a meltdown? or later in the year? At least SOMEONE is checking..doubt Russia wants to have the radioactive area of Japan..now those northern islands..

Anonymous said...

Look at this old message:

http://en.rian.ru/mlitary_news/20100916/160613445.html

I think that was only a military exercise, may be intelligence service.

Apolline said...

Same than in september 2011 ?
http://info-aviation.com/?p=11679
(use translater)

Do Russian worry about Fukushima ? For samples, it is perhaps too high to take ones ?

Anonymous said...

There is still a dispute over the Kuril Islands, which Soviet troops seized in the closing days of World War II in 1945, has prevented the two countries from signing a treaty to formally end the conflict.

FEBRUARY/MARCH 2009 — Talk about a never-ending war. More than 60 years after World War II ended, Russia and Japan have restarted negotiations over a still-unsigned peace treaty that would finally bring a formal end to the war between the two countries.

http://www.historynet.com/russia-and-japan-set-to-sign-treaty-ending-world-war-ii.htm

http://www.opednews.com/articles/U-S-Backs-Japan-In-Loomin-by-Rick-Rozoff-110224-935.html

Chibaguy said...

This may explain the helicopters yesterday and sirens all day. Some days I just want to put on head phones.

Did the US military do anything or were they to busy with plans to relocate to Guam?

Anonymous said...

seems like a sampling mission.

Maju said...

I'd say they are sampling radiation around the perimeter of Japan. Probably, less notoriously, submarines or surface ships will be doing it as well. Also China surely.

The way Japan is mismanaging the nuclear crisis should have everyone on their toes, specially in the North Pacific.

netudiant said...

The usual patrol height for these aircraft is around 30,000 ft, so these are not plume sampling missions.
Moreover, with the reactors just steaming a little, air pollution is no longer the prime concern, which is now the water situation.
TEPCO faces decades of decontamination of cooling water and the temptation to shortcut the problem by flushing things out to sea has to be rising.
An independent ocean monitoring program would be a timely precaution.

Alexander Higgins said...

I have a feeling this is due to the Syria and Iran conflict...

Anonymous said...

It's just showing the flag. Putin has trouble at home, he'd like nothing better than a bit more international tension to distract the plebs - the Iran issue is too serious to play such games with, so that leaves Caucasus (overplayed) and the Kurils.

Atomfritz said...

I think it's not really an offense when Russian aircraft fly in international airspace.
Americans put their nose into almost everywhere in the world.
They crashed plenty of airplanes containing nuclear bombs into earth and sea, creating several larger plutonium hot areas. They were the only nation that actually used nuclear bombs against innocent people that they occupy up to now.
So why is this suddenly a problem when Russians just do a test flight with 50-year-old bombers?
Maybe this fear is the deeper reason for plastering Japan with nuclear plants - the leftovers from an earlier generation of politicians who were dreaming of a Japanese nuclear deterrent?

Anonymous said...

ah! if only they could drop a couple of bombs over the nuclear and their governement associate criminals....

Anonymous said...

The explanation:

http://english.ruvr.ru/2012/02/09/65675537.html

Don´t worry, be happy.

Anonymous said...

Crazy ass Russians! Why are they targeting fairly innocuous Somali pirates? Why not reduce the boarding rate to a dollar and do the whole world a favour by cruising the coast of Fukushima looking for TEPCO executives? I'm presuming the rocket launcher can obliterate crap at long range, no?

http://weinterrupt.com/2009/06/russian-cruise-companies-may-be-offering-pirate-hunting-cruises/

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