A fable about how Russian planes scared an American ship. "Cook" was again "eaten" by Russian pilots. On an unnamed frequency

Russian Su-24 bombers several times flew dangerously close to the American destroyer USS Donald Cook in the Baltic Sea. The Pentagon said in a statement that the actions of the Russian pilots were "dangerous, potentially provocative and could lead to a collision," the Actual Camera (ETV+) morning TV news broadcast.

The commander of the American destroyer notes that the planes flew at a distance of less than 10 meters from the ship and conducted a "simulation of the attack." The bombers were reportedly unarmed. The pilots of the aircraft did not respond to the radio messages of the destroyer's team, neither in Russian nor in English.

The White House condemned the overflights of Russian Su-24s over the US Navy destroyer. Video of the incident and details below...

White House spokesman Josh Earnest said that the US administration is aware of the overflights of Russian fighters dangerously close to the US destroyer Donald Cook in the Baltic Sea and considers them "not in line with military behavior."

And the Pentagon has released photographs and videos that US military officials say show Russian Su-24s "aggressively" flying at low altitude near the USS Donald Cook.

"The White House is aware of the incident. […] This incident is in no way consistent with professional standards behavior of military forces operating in close proximity to each other in international water and airspace," Ernest said at a briefing in Washington.

Following this, the US European Command issued a statement expressing "deep concern" about "unsafe and unprofessional Russian air maneuvers."

"These actions could unnecessarily increase tensions between countries and lead to a miscalculation or incident resulting in serious injury or death," the US military warned.

Earlier, the actions of Russian pilots in an interview with reporters were criticized by Pentagon spokesman Colonel Steve Warren. Warren called them "provocative and unprofessional".

An anonymous Reuters military source described the incident in detail, stating that Russian fighters"feigned an attack" on American destroyer.

According to him, we are talking about "one of the most aggressive acts in recent times."

According to the US military, Russian Su-24 bombers have repeatedly flown dangerously close to the US destroyer USS Donald Cook in the Baltic Sea in the past few days.

As noted, they were not armed.

It is also reported that over the destroyer flew Russian helicopter Ka-27, from which, presumably, the ship was photographed.

USS Donald Cook - destroyer US Navy fourth generation, whose main weapon is guided missiles. On board the ship was a Polish helicopter.

The destroyer was reportedly heading for the Polish port of Gdansk.

The incident involving the flight of a Russian Su-24 bomber over the US destroyer Donald Cook in the Baltic Sea is reminiscent of deja vu. Exactly two years ago, a similar meeting between "Cook" and "Sushka" over the Black Sea made a lot of noise. According to media reports, in April 2014, the crew of this American warship was frightened by the means used by the Russian aircraft. electronic warfare, paralyzed the destroyer's on-board equipment - then a report on the transfer was submitted by 27 crew members.

Two years after that incident, the defendants "relocated" to the Baltic Sea. Here, according to the American side, two Su-24 aircraft, presumably without ammunition, flew near the destroyer Donald Cook, which was conducting training sessions with the participation of a Polish Air Force helicopter. Russian bombers flew near an American ship for two days in a row, and also prevented a Polish helicopter from taking off. A Russian military helicopter Ka-27 was also seen nearby.

“We have deep concerns about unsafe and unprofessional Russian maneuvers.

These actions have the potential to escalate tensions between countries, ”the representatives are quoted as saying.

Hero of Russia, Honored Test Pilot of the USSR, Colonel Anatoly Kvochur also noted that all pilots must master this maneuver - flying at extremely low altitude. It is necessarily included in the combat training course for fighter-bomber aviation, as well as for tactical bombers, which is the Su-24.

“It is used for covert approach to the target. This is especially important when the terrain is rugged, and above the sea it can be seen from afar.

But at a good speed, and it was about 900 km / h, it is difficult to detect such an aircraft in advance - at low altitude it is a point, which then turns into a large, rather strong buzzing object, ”the source says.

As is known, Su-24 bomber - front-line bomber with variable sweep wing, designed for delivering missile and bomb strikes in simple and difficult weather conditions, day and night, including at low altitudes with targeted destruction of ground and surface targets. Variable sweep wing is a type of design aircraft heavier than air with a fixed wing, which allows you to change in flight one of the types of wing geometry - sweep. On high speeds flight, a larger sweep is more effective, and on small ones (takeoff, landing) - a smaller one.

“Because they were flying with a straight wing – it’s a cruise and landing wing – obviously the speed was low,” Kvochur explains. —

If they folded the wing to the maximum sweep, then it would be possible to fly at a speed of 1300-1400 km / h, which would lead to a serious pop, because supersonic speed pulls the so-called shock wave and pulls such a wave. This wave can lead to the destruction of some weakly reinforced structures, such as antennas, and on the ground it can lead to the destruction of small buildings, ”the pilot clarifies.

He noted that, obviously, the commanders did not allow the wing to be folded so as not to aggravate the situation. “If these pilots made such a maneuver on their own initiative, based on patriotic and professional considerations, then this is the commander’s business, but I would encourage them for their professionalism,” says the Hero of Russia.

According to US military sources, Russian aircraft flew over the destroyer Donald Cook in neutral waters at a height of less than 30 m about 10 m from him, which they consider "unprofessional and unsafe".

“On Tuesday, a pair of Russian combat Su-24s, presumably unarmed, flew around the Cook 11 times. At one point, the Russian aircraft was 30 feet (9.14 m) away from the ship,” Pentagon spokesman Michelle Baldansa said in a statement.

Commenting on the statements of the American side about "unprofessional behavior", the honored pilot of Russia emphasized that everything was done cleanly, without rough edges.

“In general, flying over the sea at extremely low altitude is a rather serious matter, because it is difficult to determine the height. When you fly over earth's surface, there are some irregularities, there is something for the eye to catch on, and so the sea and the sea. This is a serious matter that requires professionalism,” he told Gazeta.Ru.

At the same time, he added that it is much easier to fly near the ship, which is a landmark, having its height. “It would be possible to fly in such a way that a wave would rise and the water would soar a little, it would wash the eyes of the Americans a little,” Kvochur joked.

Meanwhile, the American side, having studied the incident, used diplomatic channels to appeal to Russia. The U.S. Congressman in charge of naval affairs stated that "the activity of the US Navy in Europe must be expanded in such a way as to respond to the threat posed by Russia's international behavior." Although, as retired US Navy officer Rick told The Navy Times, the American destroyer did not open fire on Russian aircraft flying dangerously close to the ship, since they were not armed and did not pose a threat: “We are not at war with Russia,” Hoffman said, noting that people should not be killed just because “they are annoying.”

Recall that Arleigh Burke-class destroyer USS Donald Cook equipped with a system air defense Aegis with anti-missiles, as well as Tomahawk cruise missiles. The decision to hit targets threatening the ship can be made automatically.

As stated on Thursday official representative Russian Ministry of Defense Igor, all aircraft flights Russian videoconferencing are carried out in strict accordance with international rules for the use of airspace over neutral waters. “The flight path of the Russian aircraft passed through the area where the USS Donald Cook was located, about 70 km from the Russian naval base. Having found the ship in the zone of visual visibility, Russian pilots made a lapel from him in compliance with all security measures,” Konashenkov said.

As Colonel Kvochur explained to Gazeta.Ru, as for the lapel, this is true, and once again emphasized the professionalism of the pilots when performing the maneuver. “They did not fly over the ship and its superstructures at such a speed that people got on deck there. They turned away, walked aside at a considerable distance. If they went supersonic, there would be cotton. But I hope that in the near foreseeable future it will not come to this in relations with American partners, ”he concluded.

Warsaw also expressed its opinion on the incident. The head of Poland said that, together with the United States, they would "consider a common response" to the incident, since "it was carried out mainly against a Polish helicopter." According to him, "this type of provocative behavior" has been observed "for some time now", and the question is "what is its purpose and why it was needed."

After 1991, when an Iraqi MiG shot down over Persian Gulf one of the American "Hornits", F / A-18 did not have combat contact with Russian-built fighters. However, in November 2000, there was still a meeting of American carrier-based aircraft with fighters Russian Air Force, which was "as close as possible" to combat.

To begin with, one should give the floor to an American pilot, a direct eyewitness of the events described (the text of his letter sent by e-mail from the aircraft carrier "Kitty Hawk", in addition to the will of the author of the message, became public).

“... The sailing was quite easy and interesting: 54 days at sea, 4 in port and 45 hours of flight in October alone! (for comparison, many pilots of the Russian Air Force have an annual flight time of about 45-60 hours with the required 200-250) Yeah, we flew off our asses! Since I became one of the squadron commanders, I have been flying a lot. Here interesting story(and it's not bullshit).

So, I'm sitting there and chatting about all sorts of garbage with my deputy, and we hear a call on the box from the BIC (combat information center- the "brain" of the ship). - They say: "Sir, we spotted Russian planes."

The captain replies: "Declare an alarm, raise fighters." They say from the center: you can only announce "Alarm-30" (departure in 30 minutes (!) From the moment of the announcement). The captain cursed and said: "Pull everything you can into the air as quickly as possible!" I ran to the navigational telephone and contacted the squadron duty officer. It wasn't our squadron on duty that day, so I told him to find out who was on duty and get them to get their asses up and rush to the flight deck (Alarm 7 only assumes you're already on the flight deck and ready to go up in the air: "Alarm-30" means that you are still sitting in the waiting room).

Soon, Russian Su-27s and Su-24s passed directly over the Kitty Hawk's bridge at 500 knots. Just like in the movie "Top Gun"! The bridge officers spilled their coffee and said...! (An obscene expression that has a very emotional Russian counterpart.) At that moment I looked at the captain - his face was purple.

The Russian fighters made two more tight turns at low altitude before we finally launched our first aircraft from the deck. It was ... EA-6B "Prowler" (electronic warfare aircraft). Yes, yes, we launched the unfortunate Prowler one-on-one against a fighter directly above the ship. Our pilots were already asking for help when finally F / A-18s from the "sister" squadron (I use this term literally, since they looked like a company of "women prostitute” (the phrase in quotation marks has been replaced by a more decent one - approx. administration), flirting with the Russians) took to the air to intercept. But it was too late. The whole team looked up and watched as the Russians made a mockery of our shabby attempt to stop them.

The funny thing is that the admiral and the commander of the aircraft carrier formation were in the command hall at the morning meeting, which was interrupted by the roar of the turbines of Russian aircraft circling over the wheelhouse of the aircraft carrier. The commander's staff officer told me that they looked at each other, at the flight plan, made sure that on this day the launch was envisaged only in a few hours, and asked: "What was that?"

Four days later, the Russian intelligence service e-mailed the commander of the Kitty Hawk photos of our pilots darting around the deck, desperately trying to get the planes into the air ... ".

The events described in the letter took place in the area of ​​the Korea Strait on October 17, 2000. Two Su-24MR reconnaissance aircraft and a unit of Su-27 interceptor fighters from the 11th Air Force and Air Defense Army took part in the overflight of the American multi-purpose aircraft carrier Kitty Hawk. . According to the then Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Air Force Anatoly Karnukov, "it was a planned reconnaissance, during which, however, unusual tasks were solved." At the same time, no international agreements were not violated by the Russian side.

It should be noted that the American naval maneuvers took place only 300 km from the Russian coast, which in itself could not be regarded as a friendly act towards our country. Therefore, actions Russian aviation were completely justified and legitimate.

According to the Commander-in-Chief, the reconnaissance results "were impressive." Su-24MR made several visits to the aircraft carrier, photographing everything that happens on the flight deck. The pictures showed panic on board the ship: the sailors began to urgently cut the hoses connecting the aircraft carrier to the tanker, which at that time was transferring fuel to the Kitty Hawk.

The F/A-18 fighters were able to take to the air only after the second entry of Russian reconnaissance aircraft, however, the Su-27s immediately took them away from the ship in a distracting maneuver, which allowed the reconnaissance aircraft to perform several more flights over the aircraft carrier, which was completely defenseless from the air. According to the press, the overflight of the Kitty Hawk by Russian aircraft was repeated on November 9 and was also successful.

Here is how the media described the events:

1) On December 7 in Washington, US military officials Kenent Bacon and Admiral Steven Pietropaoli held a press conference at which they revealed some details of a series of incidents in the Sea of ​​Japan, when Russian Su-27 and Su-24 reconnaissance aircraft flew at a critical distance to the US aircraft carrier Kitty Hawk based there.

Some time later, an email arrived on the aircraft carrier, Bacon said Thursday, containing two photographs of the deck of the Kitty Hawk taken from Russian aircraft during one such Russian Air Force action. The letter also contained a short message in Russian, the content of which Amiral Pietropaoli refused to clarify, UPI reports. According to him, the letter was not sent from the Russian Ministry of Defense, and the sender is unknown to the Pentagon representative.

In addition, Kenneth Bacon said that at a press conference a week ago, when he also spoke about the actions of Russian pilots, he made a number of inaccuracies. Firstly, there were not two, but three cases of overflights by Russian aircraft - on October 12, October 17 and November 9. Secondly, during the October 17 incident, the planes were not “detected at an acceptable distance” a few hundred meters from the ship, as previously reported by the Russian Air Force, but flew directly over the aircraft carrier, which led the US military into confusion. At this moment, the pictures were taken, subsequently sent to Kitty Hawk.

Lenta.ru 8.12.00

2) Russian warplanes in the Sea of ​​Japan successfully conducted an operation to overcome the air defense of the American aircraft carrier multi-purpose strike group led by the aircraft carrier Kitty Hawk (KittyHawkCV63). Information about this, published by the Izvestiya newspaper, was confirmed to Interfax on Tuesday by informed sources in the Russian military department. According to them, this happened twice in the Sea of ​​Japan at the moment when the US aircraft carrier group was heading for exercises in the Korea Strait (October 17) and when it was returning from maneuvers (November 9) ... (Interfax November 14, 2000)

According to some reports, the aircraft were from 11 air army(commander - Lieutenant General Anatoly Nagovnitsyn). The deck at the Kitty Hawk was completely unprepared for resistance, and the Americans seriously decided that they were being attacked, and in a panic they began to cut off fuel communications so that there would be no big explosion and fire during the attack. Then they raised the "Hornets" and tried to accompany the "sushki" to the coast.

On the same day, Anatoly Kornukov stated that "The leadership General Staff The Armed Forces highly appreciated the work of the Russian pilots, who opened the air defense system of the US aircraft carrier strike force led by the Kitty Hawk aircraft carrier. According to him, all pilots will be presented for awards. “It was a planned reconnaissance, although unusual tasks were solved during it. The results of this reconnaissance are impressive,” the commander-in-chief emphasized.

On October 17, 2000, two Su-24 and Su-27 combat aircraft from the 11th Army of the Russian Air Force and Air Defense discovered the Kitty Hawk aircraft carrier and flew in close proximity to it, at an altitude of about 60 m. At the time of the flight, the ship was replenishing stocks on the move in the northern part Sea of ​​Japan, between the island of Hokkaido and the mainland coast of Russia. After the flyby, the Russian pilots sent the pictures they took to the aircraft carrier's website. The overflights were repeated on October 20 and November 9

A month later, representatives of the US Department of Defense officially recognized the fact of the overflight of the aircraft carrier. Russian funds mass media prefer the term "conditional destruction".

The Pentagon released footage of the rendezvous of Russian Su-24 bombers with the American destroyer Donald Cook. The incident took place yesterday in international waters. Baltic Sea. The Russian Ministry of Defense has already stated that the aircraft strictly followed the safety rules. However, in NATO, the behavior of Russian pilots was almost called a declaration of war.

For six seconds of video recording, Western channels have been playing non-stop for almost a day. According to some media reports, the plane passed 20 meters from the deck, according to others, it flew right over the deck, and others almost hit people. The atmosphere is whipped up by people in uniform, one by one: Russia almost declared war.

"The incident is contrary to professional standards for military personnel operating in close proximity to one another," White House spokesman Josh Earnest said in a statement.

The fact that under the wings the aircraft did not have full ammunition, and as soon as they approached the ship, they immediately began to go to the side, the Western channels did not report.

"The crews of Su-24 aircraft of the Russian Aerospace Forces over the neutral waters of the Baltic Sea. All flights of Russian Aerospace Forces aircraft are carried out in strict accordance with international rules for the use of airspace over neutral waters. The flight route of the Russian aircraft passed through the area where the US Navy destroyer Donald Cook was located, approximately 70 kilometers from the Russian naval base," explained the head of the press service and information department of the Ministry of Defense Russian Federation, Major General Igor Konashenkov.

This is the largest Russian naval base in the Baltic "Baltiysk". At the time of the approach of Russian aircraft american ship was only 70 kilometers from this most important operational-strategic formation Navy headquartered in Kaliningrad. The rapprochement could be called a typical display of the flag, but at that moment there was a whole arsenal of weapons on board the American ship.

Of the artillery on the American destroyer, there was a Mark 45 installation, the rate of fire of which is 20 rounds per minute, anti-aircraft artillery complex Mark 15 Phalanx CIWS, with subsonic flight speed, and, worst of all, modern system Aegis combat system - missiles long range- those same tomahawks that fly over a distance of 2.5 thousand kilometers can carry nuclear warhead. Another hour and the ship could have come close to the Russian port.

Before that, he had already approached the Russian shores twice. Americans like to say that the ship is invulnerable. But in 2014, in the Black Sea, it was recorded by the Russian anti-ship system Bastion. At the same time, Russian fighters approached him.

"Not far from the Crimean coast, our Su-24 bomber turned on the electronic warfare equipment at a distance of a kilometer from this destroyer. The entire control system, radio electronics went out on the destroyer - it turned out to be completely de-energized, the systems did not work missile defense, control missile weapons. Even 20 sailors are said to have written a letter of resignation from the destroyer because the US government is unable to protect their lives. We showed them their place and behave properly. They are non-exclusive, not kings at this wedding. They behave as if they can do something, but we can’t do anything,” said retired colonel, military observer Viktor Litovkin.

"The appearance of foreign warships in the immediate vicinity of the sea borders of Russia, of course, should remain in the field of attention of our Aerospace Forces. In the event of a potential violation of the sea border of Russia, everything must be done to prevent this from happening, and the target hostile to us was forced out into neutral waters," said the military expert, Chief Editor magazine "National Defense" Igor Korotchenko.

The practice of overflight of warships by fighters and bombers, in fact, was introduced by the Americans themselves. Russian sailors have been tickled on their nerves since the Cold War.

"From personal practice, I remember 1970, when we were sailing on a floating base submarines, we were circled daily several times by planes different countries. I have a lot of photos at home. We were completely calm about it. If there is some kind of fear, this already refers to psychological stability. For a normal military, this is a common thing," said Vyacheslav Popov, Russian admiral and commander of the Northern Fleet in 1999-2001.

"I lived for 20 years in Japan, where the capital was next to two American air bases. We have seen countless cases of American planes loitering over civilian targets. Not to mention the extent to which they disrespected other people's military installations," said media consultant, human rights activist and journalist in Tokyo, John Bosnich.

What will be the reaction American sailors approaching their ship will be known as soon as the destroyer returns to port. So far, only "not from fright, but from surprise" is reported.

The US State Department admitted that the crew of the American destroyer "Donald Cook" was demoralized after meeting with the Russian Su-24 bomber, which did not have bombs and missiles on board. We learned why this happened and what else Russia has inspiring.

On an unnamed frequency

On April 10, the American destroyer "Donald Cook" entered the Black Sea. On April 12, a Russian Su-24 bomber overflew the destroyer. April 14, after an ordinary, in general, incident - our planes do not very regularly approach ships potential adversary in neutral waters, - the Pentagon made an extremely emotional statement, accusing Russia of violating its own traditions and international treaties. It was mentioned that the crew of the "Donald Cook" was demoralized after meeting with the bomber, a number of media reported that 27 American sailors had written reports about their dismissal from the fleet. What scared the crew of the destroyer so much?

"Donald Cook" is not a rusty submarine "Zaporozhye" for you, but a fourth-generation destroyer of the US Navy, whose main weapon is guided missiles. This is the most massive post-war ship with a displacement of more than 5000 tons: 62 units have been built since 1988, 13 more are planned. cruise missiles"Tomahawk" with a range of up to 2500 kilometers, capable of carrying nuclear charges. In the normal and strike versions, the destroyer is equipped with 56 or 96 such missiles, respectively.

The 380 people who make up the crew of the ship are well protected. The combat posts of the "Donald Cook" are surrounded by Kevlar - 130 tons of this expensive go to each ship, but durable material. The small superstructure is covered with a material that absorbs radar radiation. Below the waterline, the destroyer is protected by armor made of high-strength magnesium-aluminum alloys. To reduce underwater noise, air is supplied to the edges of the propellers. As a result, a cloud of bubbles is formed, which distorts and smoothes the hydroacoustic "portrait" of the ship.

Finally, the Donald Cook is equipped with the latest Aegis combat information and control system - among other things, it combines the air defense systems of all ships on which it is installed into a common network, allowing you to simultaneously track and fire hundreds of targets. On the edges of the destroyer's superstructure are four huge universal radar antennas, replacing several conventional radars. Together with "Tomahawks" in universal launchers Fifty anti-aircraft guided missiles of various classes are waiting in the wings fore and aft.

It would seem that the appearance of such a ship in the Black Sea should cause shock and awe. And so it happened, just not from the other side. The Russian Su-24 front-line bomber that flew to Donald Cook did not have bombs or missiles on board. Under the fuselage hung one container with the Khibiny electronic warfare system. Having approached the destroyer, the Khibiny turned off its radar, combat control circuits, data transmission systems - in short, they turned off the entire Aegis, just like we turn off the TV by pressing a button on the remote control. After that, the Su-24 simulated a missile attack on the blinded and deafened ship. Then another and another - a total of 12 times.

When the bomber had left, the "Donald Cook" hurried to the Romanian port to put her nerves in order. He no longer approached Russian waters. The Americans are accustomed from afar, being in complete safety, to grind with missiles poorly armed detachments of some desert partisans. And if that doesn't work, they don't play.

Soldiers of the invisible front

The more complex the electronic system, the easier it is to disrupt its operation by methods and means of electronic warfare. - said the head of the research center for electronic warfare and evaluating the effectiveness of reducing the visibility of the air force academy Vladimir Balybin. - To win modern war, it is not enough to achieve air supremacy. It is also necessary to ensure information superiority.

In addition to the Khibiny, the domestic military-industrial complex produces many different devices that can discourage both regular enemy units and bandits with terrorists. The Airborne Forces began to receive Infauna complexes. Installed on an armored personnel carrier or other military equipment, the complex finds and jams enemy radio communications in the HF and VHF bands, and "lulls" remotely controlled land mines. They will certainly explode - but after the Russian military column passes over them and retires to a safe distance.

The "Infauna" has one more function - optical sensors placed on the sides of the vehicle detect flashes of shots and give the command to set up a smoke screen that shelters the column from fire. The Judoist information security complex, among other things, finds and neutralizes electronic devices that have connected to data transmission channels without authorization.

The product "Lesochek" performs the same functions as the "Infauna", but is much more compact - it can be carried in a backpack or suitcase. With such a case, it is convenient to go to important business negotiations - the most advanced security service will not be able to eavesdrop on them. For businessmen, there is a civilian version of "Lesochka" - it can be mounted in the trunk of a Mercedes.

If in the UAZ of General Romanov in 1995 in Grozny the product "Lesochek" worked, the explosion of the car of the commander of the internal troops might not have happened, - Balybin said.

The Borisoglebsk-2 complex forms the basis of the electronic protection of tactical formations of the Russian army. It includes an automated control point and four types of jamming stations - in a single algorithm, they find sources of enemy activity on the air and jam them.

The device "Resident" finds and blocks satellite and Cell Phones, subscriber complexes of GPS-navigation. It proved its effectiveness during the conflict in South Ossetia, disorienting Georgian drones. In Chechnya, the head of the electronic warfare department of the Voronezh Air Force Academy, Vladimir Khrolikov, fought terrorists:

We had tracking stations all over the territory. As soon as there was activity on the air, we made a notch and passed it on to the gunners. Dzhokhar Dudayev, as you know, was destroyed by a missile aimed at the signal of his satellite phone. In Grozny, EW specialists neutralized radio-controlled land mines rolled into asphalt.

Retooling strategic nuclear forces Russia on the latest tools Electronic warfare is proceeding at an accelerated pace, said Dmitry Rogozin, Deputy Prime Minister of Russia. If the army and navy as a whole are re-equipped by 70 percent by 2020, then the strategic potential EW will be updated to 100 percent.

Electronic warfare equipment is what allows our smart weapons to operate, and someone else's smart weapons to fall asleep. And that's right, - said the vice-premier.